Joshua Norton, the Bankrupt Merchant Who Proclaimed Himself Emperor of the United States in 1859 — and Was Obeyed
In September 1859 the ruined San Francisco merchant Joshua Norton proclaimed himself Norton I, Emperor of the United States. For twenty years the city played along: his own currency was honoured, police saluted him, and his decree to bridge the Bay was eventually built. Ten thousand people attended his funeral.
Read the story →