The Bizarre True Story Of How One Man Became Emperor Of The United States
It’s the fall of 1859 in a booming West Coast city when a strange article appears in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin newspaper. According to the grandiose announcement, a new emperor has stepped up to govern the United States. And for more than two decades, he will delight his citizens with his wise and benevolent reign. So who was Joshua Norton, and how did he become the only monarch in history to take the American throne?
As the heady days of the gold rush began to wind down, San Francisco remained a city where fortunes were lost and made. For years, eager prospectors had been flooding in, keen to meet their destinies on the western frontier. But by the time that Norton arrived on the scene, the region’s supply of its most precious commodity had begun to run dry.
Ever inventive, the people of San Francisco turned to different businesses and schemes. And it was from the midst of this melting pot that one of America’s oddest characters emerged. Resplendent in his uniform and equipped with a plumed hat and a sword, Norton certainly looked every inch the emperor. But where did he come from? And how had he risen to such an apparently illustrious position?
From that first announcement in September 1859 Norton went on to become an iconic figure across San Francisco and the rest of the nation. But his strange past and unexpected private life were at odds with the pomp and circumstance of his lofty role. And even though he died more than a century ago, his legacy lives on in the annals of the bizarre.
Although the idea of an American emperor might seem odd by today’s standards, the country has not always been overseen by an elected president. In fact, in the days before the Revolutionary War, the 13 colonies each answered to an individual governor. And ultimately, these officials were under the control of the British crown.
