This Bloke Called Himself Emperor And Shops Took His Money
Category: Eccentric People 19th February 2026
Right, so listen to this: a chap called Joshua Norton - decent name, nothing regal - arrives in San Francisco during the gold-rush bustle, tries his luck like everyone else, makes a bob or two in property, then loses it all. Instead of sulking into a cardigan he does what any reasonable person might not do. He declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States." Not a joke. He pins a proclamation in the papers and starts ruling the place, in his head anyway.
Now here's the bit that proper gets me. He didn't have soldiers. He didn't have a palace. He had a top hat, a frock coat and a tendency for grand decrees. But local businesses, weirdly, humoured him. He started handing out his own printed notes and some cafes and boarding houses accepted them. Actual shopkeepers taking Emperor Norton's money. Why? Mostly affection. San Fran loved daft theatre. It was part oddball civic pride and part practical kindness: the bloke was harmless and entertaining, so people played along.
He wrote proclamations too. He ordered Congress dissolved, demanded a bridge between Oakland and San Francisco decades before they built it, and banned parties he didn't like - like he was a grumpy uncle with a printing press. Newspapers printed his edicts because it made a cracking story. Once, when he was plonked in an asylum for a spell, citizens petitioned for his release and celebrated him with parades. You don't get that sort of municipal indulgence without earning a few fans.
When he died in 1880 the city turned up in numbers. Thousands went to his funeral, proper turnout for a bloke who invented his own monarchy. So here's a truth that baffles me: a bankrupt immigrant gives himself a crown and a slice of the public decide it's brilliant enough to trade in his money and clap him down the street. It's ridiculous, cosy and somehow nicer than the usual way these things go. People loved a bit of harmless eccentricity. Who can blame them? I mean, imagine doing that where I'm from and the council not calling the police. Proper mad, innit.