Emperor of the United States and Protector of
Mexico
Joshua Norton, the
son of an well-to-do South African family, arrived in San
Francisco in 1849 with 40,000 dollars. Within a few years Norton
had made a substantial fortune estimated
at 250,000 dollars in real estate and other business ventures.
Noting the immense influx of Chinese immigrants Norton used
all his money to buy up all the rice he could find. When two huge
ships laden with rice docked in San Francisco Norton was
financially ruined. One of the creditors who foreclosed on him
was the future Civil War General William T. Sherman.
After a few years down
and out Norton appeared at the offices of the San Francisco
Examiner and announced that he was Norton I
'Emperor of the United States Protector of Mexico.' The newspaper solemnly printed the
proclamation in all its mock seriousness.
The city's population, even then having an appreciation for the
odd and eccentric, took Emperor Norton I to its heart.
Norton began walking the streets of his empire with a regal
bearing. When he complained that he had no appropiate uniform
the city council bought him one. His lack of funds inspired him
to print his own small denomination money which was honored by
many local merchants. The Examiner printed many of
his proclamations over the twenty years between Norton's
'ascension'
and his death in 1880.
Like many madmen Norton was ahead of his time in some areas.
He ordered the then technically impossible building of a
suspension bridge connecting San Francisco
to Oakland. He ordered
the governer of Virginia removed from office for
hanging John
Brown. He called for financial support for a man working on a
flying machine. He banned Sunday laws. The arrest of Norton for
involuntary treatment of a
mental disorder provoked such a storm of protest that he was
released with an apology from the Chief of Police and was
thereafter saluted by Police Officers. The 1880 funeral of
Norton I was attended by an estimated 10,000 people.
There are several web sites devoted to Norton I which may be found by using the keywords 'Joshua Norton' in the major search engines.
