Emperor Norton

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Joshua Norton was born in England to Jewish parents and raised in South Africa. He left Cape Town in late 1845, sailed from Liverpool to Boston on March 12, 1846, and arrived in San Francisco in late 1849. After a brief period of prosperity, a failed gambit to corner the rice market in December 1852 led to a cascade of events — a rice contract dispute lost in the California Supreme Court in October 1854, court-ordered foreclosure of all his real estate interests, and loss of business clients — forcing him to declare bankruptcy in August 1856. In September 1859, he hand-delivered a letter to the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin declaring himself 'Emperor of these United States,' which the paper printed for humorous effect, beginning his 20-year reign. Norton issued numerous decrees, including an order on October 12, 1859, to formally abolish the U.S. Congress, and a January 1860 decree summoning the Army to depose elected officials. A July 1860 decree ordered the dissolution of the republic in favor of a temporary monarchy. In 1862 he ordered both the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches to publicly ordain him as 'Emperor.' On August 12, 1869, he declared the abolition of the Democratic and Republican parties. He also forbade the use of the word 'Frisco' under penalty of twenty-five dollars, and called for a suspension bridge or tunnel connecting Oakland and San Francisco. Despite lacking political power, he received free ferry and train passage, help with rent, and free meals from well-placed friends and sympathizers. Merchants sold souvenirs bearing his image. He died on January 8, 1880.

Reader's Guide

Emperor Norton's significance lies in his role as a beloved eccentric who captured the imagination of San Francisco and beyond. Though he had no formal authority, his proclamations were taken seriously enough to be published in newspapers, and his currency was honored in some establishments he frequented. His life reflects the fluid social dynamics of Gold Rush-era California, where a bankrupt businessman could reinvent himself as a monarch and be embraced by the community. Norton's legacy endures through his influence on literature: he served as the basis for characters created by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Morris and René Goscinny, Selma Lagerlöf, Neil Gaiman, Mircea Cărtărescu, and Charles Bukowski. His call for a bridge between Oakland and San Francisco was realized long after his death in the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube, and efforts have been made since the 1930s to name the Bay Bridge after Emperor Norton. Norton remains a symbol of harmless eccentricity and the power of self-invention.

Did You Know?

• Norton's failed effort to corner the rice market in December 1852 led to a California Supreme Court loss in October 1854 and forced him to declare bankruptcy in August 1856.
• He served on a jury in September 1857 for a case of a man accused of stealing a gold bar from Wells, Fargo & Co.
• Norton's proclamation forbidding the word 'Frisco' carried a penalty of twenty-five dollars.
• He called for a suspension bridge or tunnel connecting Oakland and San Francisco, later realized as the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube.
• Norton was the basis for characters created by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, and six other writers.