History: Emperor of the United States

The Constitution provides for the election of a President to head up our national government. But what most people don't know is that for a brief period, this country also had an Emperor.

On February 14, 1819 Joshua Abraham Norton was born in London, England. He spent his youth in South Africa and didn't arrive in the United States until immigrating to San Francisco at the age of 30. But his lack of ties to this country did not diminish his ambition to lead it. Through shrewd business dealings in real estate, Norton managed to acquire a rather sizable fortune. His economic downfall, however, came when, predicting a large influx of immigrants from Asia, Norton bought all the rice and chopsticks he could find, hoping to corner the market. Not surprisingly, this scheme did not work out as Norton had planned, leading instead to his economic ruin. Now penniless, Norton needed a new occupation.

With an excess of time on his hands, and a distinct lack of royalty to stand in his way, on September 17, 1859 Joshua Norton declared himself to be Norton I, "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico."

Though Norton's claims were taken seriously enough at first to draw the attention of both President Lincoln and Queen Victoria, everyone soon realized that Norton's claim to power was not a threat to the sovereignty of the United States government. This understanding, however, did not mark the end of Norton's glorious reign.

The citizens of San Francisco treated Norton as if he were actually the Emperor. Over the next 20 years, Norton made a series of proclamations - abolishing the Democrat and Republican parties, abolishing the Congress and decreeing that a suspension bridge be built across San Francisco Bay - most of which were dutifully printed by local papers.

Another example of how the locals humored Norton occurred when he began printing his own money. Rather than reject his currency, local businesses accepted it at face value. Restaurants even competed for the honor of hosting his royal highness for complimentary meals.

Lest anyone think that San Franciscans simply considered Norton to be a joke, however, the events following his death in 1880 proved otherwise. Out of respect for the passing of their emperor, flags in the city flew at half mast, businesses closed and 20,000 people turned out to pay their last respects.

Though he is gone, Emperor Norton I has not been forgotten. On the 100^th anniversary of his death, San Franciscans memorialized their fallen leader with lunch-hour ceremonies at Market and Montgomery Streets.