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Joshua Abraham Norton (c. 1815 – January 8, 1880), also known as His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States." Although he had no political power, and his influence extended only so far as he was humored by those around him, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments he frequented. Norton also wrote to Queen Victoria, and he was referred to as His Imperial Majesty by local citizens and in the newspaper obituaries announcing his death.
Though he was considered insane, or at least highly eccentric, the citizens of San Francisco celebrated his presence, his humor, and his deeds—among the most notorious being his "order" that the United States Congress be dissolved by force (which Congress and the U.S. Army ignored), and his numerous (some claim prophetic) decrees calling for a bridge to be built across San Francisco Bay. Mark Twain was co-resident in San Francisco during part of Emperor Norton's "reign," and the King in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is reportedly modeled after him.
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Early life
Norton was born in England. Records vary as to the date and place of birth. His obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, "following the best information obtainable," cited the silver plate on his coffin which said he was "aged about 65."[''Le Roi Est Mort'' San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1880. San Francisco Chronicle Reader (1962), Accessed September 19, 2006] This suggests 1814 as his year of birth. Other, non-primary sources have his birth on February 14, 1819 in London.
Norton emigrated from South Africa to San Francisco in 1849 after receiving a bequest of $40,000 from his father's estate. He enjoyed some highly impressive success in the real estate market and accumulated a fortune of $250,000 by 1853.[ Norton thought he saw a way to make a financial killing when China, facing a severe famine, placed a ban on the export of rice, causing the price in San Francisco to skyrocket from 4¢ per pound to 36¢ per pound (9¢/kg to 79¢/kg). When he heard that a ship holding 200,000 pounds (100 tons) of rice was coming from Peru, he bought all the rice, hoping to corner the rice market. Unfortunately, shipload after shipload of rice came from Peru, and the price of rice plummeted. There was extensive litigation over the incident amongst Norton and his financial partners between 1853 and 1857. Although Norton prevailed in the lower courts, the cases were eventually settled in the Supreme Court with a defeat for Norton.][ He declared bankruptcy in 1858, and left the city for a time.]
There are no known documents noting an eccentric personality or unusual behavior of Norton prior to the loss of his fortune, so it is not known whether his pronounced eccentricity was a permanent aspect of his psychology, or arose as a result of the stressful financial events of the 1850s. Nonetheless, after his sudden loss of financial stability, Norton seemed to become (in the absence of a proper diagnosis) somewhat odd, and began exhibiting delusions of grandeur.
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Imperial career
When Norton returned to San Francisco from his self-imposed exile, he had become fully disgruntled with the vicissitudes and inadequacies of the legal and political structures of the United States. On September 17, 1859 he took matters into his own hands and distributed letters to the various newspapers in the city, proclaiming himself "Emperor of these United States":
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 S. F., Cal., 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 Feb. 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.
He would, on occasion, add "Protector of Mexico" to this title. Thus commenced his unprecedented and whimsical 21-year "reign" over America.
In accordance with his self-appointed role of emperor, Norton issued numerous decrees on matters of state. Deeming that he had assumed power, he saw no further need for a legislature, and on October 12, 1859, he issued a decree that formally "dissolved" the United States Congress. He also observed that
...fraud and corruption prevent a fair and proper expression of the public voice; that open violation of the laws are constantly occurring, caused by mobs, parties, factions and undue influence of political sects; that the citizen has not that protection of person and property which he is entitled.
As a result, the Emperor ordered that "all interested parties" gather at Platt's Music Hall in San Francisco in February 1860 so as to "remedy the evil complained of."
In another imperial "decree" of January 1860, Emperor Norton I summoned the army to depose the elected officials of Congress:
WHEREAS, a body of men calling themselves the National Congress are now in session in Washington City, in violation of our Imperial edict of the 12th of October last, declaring the said Congress abolished;
WHEREAS, it is necessary for the repose of our Empire that the said decree should be strictly complied with;
NOW, THEREFORE, we do hereby Order and Direct Major-General Scott, the Command-in-Chief of our Armies, immediately upon receipt of this, our Decree, to proceed with a suitable force and clear the Halls of Congress.
Norton's "orders" had no effect on the army, and the Congress likewise continued in its activities unperturbed. Norton issued further "decrees" in 1860 that purported to dissolve the republic and to forbid the assembly of any members of the Congress. These, like all of Norton's decrees, passed unnoticed by the government in Washington, and by the nation at large. Norton's battle against the elected leaders of America was to persist throughout his "reign", though it appears that Norton eventually, if somewhat grudgingly, accepted that Congress would continue to exist without his permission, although this didn't change his feelings on the matter.
His attempts to overthrow the elected government of America by force having been frustrated, Norton turned his attention and his proclamations to other matters, both political and social. On August 12, 1869, "being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm", he "abolished" both the Democratic and Republican parties.[''Joshua A. Norton.'' The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Accessed September 19, 2006.] On another occasion, the failure to refer to his adopted home city with appropriate respect was the subject of a particularly stern edict in 1872:
Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco", which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars.
Among Norton's many edicts were instructions to form a League of Nations, and he explicitly forbade any form of discord or conflict between religions or their sects. The Emperor also saw fit on a number of occasions to decree the construction of a suspension bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco, his later decrees becoming increasingly irritated at the lack of prompt obedience being exhibited by the authorities:
WHEREAS, we issued our decree ordering the citizens of San Francisco and Oakland to appropriate funds for the survey of a suspension bridge from Oakland Point via Goat Island; also for a tunnel; and to ascertain which is the best project; and whereas the said citizens have hitherto neglected to notice our said decree; and whereas we are determined our authority shall be fully respected; now, therefore, we do hereby command the arrest by the army of both the Boards of City Fathers if they persist in neglecting our decrees.
Given under our royal hand and seal at San Francisco, this 17th day of September, 1872.
This decree, unlike most, was eventually carried out; construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge began in 1933 and was completed in 1936. BART's Transbay Tube was completed in 1969 and opened in 1972.
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Life as Emperor
His days consisted of inspecting the streets of San Francisco in an elaborate blue uniform with tarnished gold-plated epaulets, given to him by officers of the United States Army post at the Presidio of San Francisco, and wearing a beaver hat decorated with a peacock feather and a rosette. Frequently he enhanced this regal posture with a cane or umbrella. During his ministrations Norton would examine the condition of the sidewalks and cable cars, the state of repair of public property, the appearance of police officers, and attend to the needs of his subjects as they arose. He would frequently give lengthy philosophical expositions on a variety of topics to anyone within earshot at the time.
It was during one of his "Imperial inspections" that Norton is reputed to have performed one of his most famous acts. During the 1860s and 1870s there were a number of anti-Chinese demonstrations in the poorer districts of San Francisco, and ugly and fatal riots broke out on several occasions. During one such incident, Norton is alleged to have positioned himself between the rioters and their Chinese targets, and with a bowed head began to recite the Lord's Prayer repeatedly. Shamed, the rioters dispersed without incident.
Image:Lazarus2.gif|thumb|right|Emperor Norton dressed as the Pope at the funeral of the itinerant dog Lazarus. Norton was magnanimous enough to grant an "Imperial Pardon" to the errant young police officer who had committed the (perceived) act of treason. Possibly as a result of this scandal, all police officers of San Francisco thereafter would salute Norton as he passed in the street.
Norton did receive some small tokens of formal recognition for his station; the census of 1870 records a Joshua Norton residing at 624 Commercial St, and lists him with the occupation of "Emperor." Norton would also issue his own money on occasion in order to pay for certain debts, and this was an effective local currency, generally accepted as legal tender by San Francisco businesses. (Typically these notes came in denominations from 50¢ to five dollars, and the few notes still extant are collector items.) Certainly the city of San Francisco honored Norton; when Norton's uniform began to look shabby, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, with a great deal of ceremony, appropriated enough money to buy him a suitably regal replacement. In return, Norton sent them a gracious note of thanks and a "patent of nobility in perpetuity" for each Supervisor.
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Later years and death
During the latter years of Norton's reign, he was the subject of considerable rumor and speculation. One popular story suggested that he was actually the son of Emperor Louis Napoleon and that his claims of coming from South Africa were simply a ruse to prevent persecution. (To have been an illegitimate son of Louis Napoleon, he would have had to have been conceived when the French Emperor was only three; Louis Napoleon's actual son, Napoleon Eugene, Prince Imperial, died fighting in the Zulu War in 1879.) Another popular story suggested that the emperor was planning to marry Queen Victoria. While this is completely without foundation, the emperor did actually correspond with the queen on several occasions and he is reported to have met the real Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.[ A final rumor was that Norton was in fact supremely wealthy, and only affected poverty due to miserly inclinations.]
In addition to the rumors, a number of "decrees" that were probably fraudulent were submitted and duly printed in the newspapers, and there is suspicion that in at least a few cases, the editors of the newspapers themselves drafted fictitious edicts to suit their own agendas. The Museum of the City of San Francisco maintains a listing of all the decrees it believes to be genuine.
On the evening of January 8, 1880, Joshua Norton collapsed on the corner of California Street and Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) while on his way to a lecture at the Academy of Sciences. His collapse was immediately noticed by another citizen who raised the alarm, and "the police officer on the beat hastened for a carriage to convey him to the City Receiving Hospital."[''Le Roi Est Mort'' San Francisco Chronicle, January 9, 1880. www.notfrisco.com, Accessed September 19, 2006] Norton died before the carriage could arrive.
The following day the San Francisco Chronicle published his obituary on its front page under the headline "Le Roi est Mort" ("the King is Dead").[ In a tone tinged with sadness, the article respectfully reported that, "On the reeking pavement, in the darkness of a moon-less night under the dripping rain…, Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life". The Morning Call, another leading San Francisco newspaper, published a front-page article using an almost identical sentence as a headline: "Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life."]
Contrary to the rumors, it quickly became evident that Norton had died in complete poverty, and his entire estate amounted to no more than a few dollars. Five or six dollars in small change had been found on his person, and a search of his room at the boarding house on Commercial Street turned up only a single sovereign worth around $2.50, his collection of walking sticks, his rather battered sabre, a variety of hats, including a stovepipe, a derby, a red-laced Army cap and another cap suited to a martial band-master, an 1828 French Franc, and a handful of the Imperial bonds he used to sell to tourists at a fictitious 7% interest. The telegrams purported to be from Czar Alexander II, who congratulated him on his forthcoming marriage to Queen Victoria, and from the President of France, who told him that such a union would be disastrous to world peace, his correspondence with Queen Victoria and 1,098,235 shares of stock in a worthless gold mine.
When the initial funeral arrangements were made a pauper's coffin of simple redwood had been procured for the departed. However, the members of the Pacific Club (a San Franciscan businessmen's association) deemed this to be completely unacceptable. After establishing a funeral fund, the members rapidly raised a sufficient amount to purchase a handsome rosewood casket and arranged a suitably dignified farewell. Reports indicated that respects were paid "…by all classes from capitalists to the pauper, the clergyman to the pickpocket, well-dressed ladies and those whose garb and bearing hinted of the social outcast."
Norton's funeral was a solemn, mournful and large affair. Some accounts report that as many as 30,000 people lined the streets to pay homage, and that the funeral cortege was two miles long. He was buried at the Masonic Cemetery, at the expense of the City of San Francisco. The day after his funeral, January 11, 1880, the San Francisco skies were blackened with a solar eclipse.[Espenak, Fred Solar Eclipses: 1801 CE to 1900 CE NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Accessed September 20, 2006]
In 1934, Norton's remains were transferred, again at the expense of the City of San Francisco, to a grave-site of moderate splendor at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Colma. His story faded somewhat after his death, and his grave site was marked by a small worn stone; however, his story became more popular during the 1960s and his present gravestone refers to him as "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico" (see illustration).
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Posthumous recognition
In January 1980, numerous ceremonies and memorials were conducted in San Francisco to honor the 100th anniversary of the passing of the one and only "Emperor of the United States."
Norton's proclamations promoting a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland were commemorated on Tuesday, December 14, 2004, when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution calling for the new span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to be named after Norton. The proposal, however, needs the approval of the City of Oakland and then state authorities to be ratified. The Oakland City Council has yet to consider the resolution and members of the council have so far only expressed disdain for the proposal.•
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See also
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Notes
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