His Imperial Majesty

From the faboo website of the trust established in his name:

On 17th September 1859, the following Proclamation was published in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin:

At the peremptory request 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 nine years and ten months past of San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U.S., 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.

It was signed: “Norton I, Emperor of the United States.” In 1863, when Napoleon III invaded Mexico, he added the title “Protector of Mexico.”

Over the course of a 20-plus-year “reign” that ended with his death in January 1880, Emperor Norton continued to urge those political reforms that he felt were necessary to secure the general welfare and, as he put it, to “save the nation from utter ruin.” Proclamations [were issued] calling for the abolition of Congress and the dissolution of the two-party system...[and] for the survey and construction of a great bridge linking Oakland and San Francisco via Goat Island (today called Yerba Buena Island).

...Despite the Emperor's meagre living arrangements, he had a strong sense of imperial style and decorum. He wore a regimental uniform - sometimes Union, sometimes Confederate; often a well-worn “hand me down” donated by the U.S. Army base at the Presidio - and carried a great gnarled walking stick. For formal occasions, he embellished his basic ensemble with oversized gold epaulets, a sword and a beaver hat with an ostrich plume. In his lapel, he wore a carnation - usually a gift of a day-old blossom, too withered to sell, given him by a sympathetic florist.

To supplement charitable contributions of money, food, rent and personal effects - which, to preserve his dignity, he called “taxes” - the Emperor eventually took to printing and selling his own scrip, in denominations of 50 cents to 10 dollars. The scrip - promissory notes payable at 7 percent interest in 1880 - routinely was honored in San Francisco.

The fact that the city humoured such an eccentricity says much about Emperor Norton and much about San Francisco. But the Emperor wasn’t just humoured. He was beloved. Theatres reserved some of their best seats for the Emperor on opening nights. When the Emperor’s uniform and hat became tattered, San Francisco’s city government - the Board of Supervisors - bought him new ones...[When he was arrested by a member of a private security corps] the police chief released the Emperor and apologised. The Emperor, for his part, issued an imperial pardon for the errant "special." And, thereafter, police officers saluted the Emperor when he passed them on the street.

...[and when he collapsed and died in the street] at least 10,000 people came to view the Emperor’s body in state.

What a story. What a legend!

Emperor Norton (born Joshua Abraham Norton, 4th February 1818 – 8th January 1880)