The United States is considered a republic, which is a country that isn’t ruled by some sort of king or royal person or, most importantly, an emperor. And yet from 1859 to 1880, the US had one. And you may be asking yourself, WHY?
Well, Joshua Norton (1818-1880) was a man who was born in South Africa, though it is not clear EXACTLY where he was born. After moving around South Africa for a while, he moved to Boston in early 1846. He tried to corner the rice market (for some reason), but when he failed to do so, his real estate interests were foreclosed, and his business clientele were lost, and so in mid-late 1856, he was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Not really off to a good start, but here’s the interesting part:
In 1859, Norton became disconnected from what he considered the inadequacies of political and legal structures in the United States. In September of that same year, he delivered a letter he wrote himself to the local newspaper, the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, which said that he was the Emperor of the United States.
In the letter, he said,
At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of February next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.
— NORTON I., Emperor of the United States.
The Bulletin decided to print it as a joke, but little did they know they kicked off Norton’s 20-year ‘reign’ over the US.
Norton was then able to do as he pleased around San Francisco. He walked around the streets of San Fran, spent time in the city’s libraries and parks, was seen attending musical and theatrical shows, and kept good company, and in turn, the residents liked having him in the city.
Norton’s outfit included a blue uniform with gold-plated epaulettes (basically shoulder pads), along with a beaver hat with peacock/ostrich feathers, walking stick, umbrella, etc. He was also seen with two stray dogs named Bummer and Lazarus, which gave rise to the fact that they may be his pets.
A police officer tried to take Norton to a mental asylum in 1867, but the “fans” of Norton objected, saying that he didn’t hurt anyone. The 1870 Census, however, listed him as ‘insane’, though it’s worth noting that their instructions state that “The fact of idiocy will be better determined by the common consent of the neighborhood, than by attempting to apply any scientific measure to the weakness of the mind or will.”
On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed on the corner of California Street and Dupont Street (which is now Grant Street), and he died before a carriage could attend the scene. Everyone mourned. Then, his room was searched, and it turned out he wasn’t as rich as some may have thought.
Today, Norton remains one of the more strange types of people throughout history, and who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll proclaim myself Joshua Norton II, and I’ll have as much fun as he did.
On an unrelated note:
Spare Your Disbelief 