Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
invaded Mexico, he took the secondary title of "Protector of Mexico."
Norton was born in England but spent most of his early life in South Africa. Leaving Cape Town, probably in late 1845, he arrived in Boston, via Liverpool, in March 1846 and San Francisco in late 1849.
[John Lumea]
"How and When Did Joshua Norton Get to San Francisco?
The Emperor Norton Trust, February 10, 2017. Nothing is known of his whereabouts or occupations in the intervening three-and-a-half years.
For the first few years after arriving in San Francisco, Norton made a successful living as a commodities trader and real estate speculator, becoming one of the city's more prosperous and respected citizens. However, he was financially ruined following a failed bid to corner the rice market during a shortage prompted by a famine in China.
He bought a shipload of Peruvian rice at ; but more Peruvian ships arrived in port, causing the price to drop sharply to . He then lost a protracted lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, and his public prominence faded.
Norton did not disappear from the scene completely. However, he dramatically "reset" his relationship to the world around him in September 1859, when he declared himself Emperor of the United States. Norton had no formal political power; nevertheless, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in some establishments that he frequented. Some considered Norton to be insane or
eccentric
Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to:
* Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"
Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics
* Off-center, in geometry
* Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...
, but residents of San Francisco and the city's larger Northern California orbit enjoyed his imperial presence and took note of his frequent newspaper proclamations. Though Norton received free ferry and train passage and a variety of favors, such as help with rent and free meals, from well-placed friends and sympathizers, the city's merchants also capitalized on his notoriety by selling souvenirs bearing his image. "San Francisco lived off the Emperor Norton," Norton's biographer William Drury wrote, "not Norton off San Francisco".
On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed at the corner of California and Dupont (now Grant) streets and died before he could be given medical treatment. According to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', upwards of 10,000 people lined the streets of San Francisco to pay him homage at his funeral. Norton has been immortalized as the basis of characters in the literature of
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
,
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
,
Christopher Moore,
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
and
René Goscinny
René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...
,
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
,
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
,
Mircea Cărtărescu
Mircea Cărtărescu (; born 1 June 1956) is a Romanian novelist, poet, short-story writer, literary critic, and essayist.
Biography
Born in Bucharest in 1956, he attended Cantemir Vodă National College during the early 1970s. During his school ...
and
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...
.
Early life
Norton's parents were John Norton (d. 1848) and Sarah Norden (d. 1846), who were
English Jews
The history of the Jews in England goes back to the reign of William the Conqueror. Although it is likely that there had been some Jewish presence in the Roman period, there is no definitive evidence, and no reason to suppose that there was any ...
. John was a farmer and merchant, and Sarah was a daughter of Abraham Norden and a sister of Benjamin Norden, a successful merchant. The family moved to South Africa in early 1820 as part of a government-backed colonization scheme whose participants came to be known as the
1820 Settlers
The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820.
Origins
After th ...
.
["Joshua Abraham Norton"](_blank)
at 1820Settlers.com. Most likely, Norton was born in the
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
ish town of
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
, today part of London.
The best available evidence points to February 4, 1818, as the date of Norton's birth. Obituaries published in 1880, following Norton's death, offered conflicting information about his birth date. The second of two obituaries in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', "following the best information obtainable," cited the silver plate on his coffin which said he was "aged about 65", suggesting that 1815 could be the year of his birth. However, Norton's biographer, William Drury, points out that "about 65" was based solely on the guess that Norton's landlady offered to the coroner at the inquest following his death. In a 1923 essay published by the California Historical Society, Robert Ernest Cowan claimed that Norton was born on February 4, 1819.
However, the passenger lists for the ''La Belle Alliance'', the ship that carried Norton and his family from England to South Africa, list him as having been two years old when the ship set sail in February 1820. This information appears not to have been known until after 1934, the year that Norton's headstone was placed at his grave in Colma, California—when Cowan's account remained prominent. This may help to explain why those who had the stone made used 1819 as the birth year.
The February 4, 1865, edition of ''
The Daily Alta California
The ''Alta California'' or ''Daily Alta California'' (often miswritten ''Alta Californian'' or ''Daily Alta Californian'') was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper.
''California Star''
The ''Daily Alta California'' descended from the first ...
'' newspaper included an item in which the ''Alta'' wished Emperor Norton a happy 47th birthday, indicating that his birth date was February 4, 1818 (not 1819, as Cowan claimed)—a date that would line up with ''La Belle Alliance''s passenger list from two years later.
[John Lumea]
"Joshua Abraham Norton, b. 4 February 1818,"
The Emperor Norton Trust, February 8, 2015. Moreover, when Cowan quoted the 1865 ''Alta'' item in his essay, he used an altered version in an apparent attempt to advance his claim of an 1819 birth date.
Persistent claims for an 1819 birth date are of doubtful provenance, tracing to unsubstantiated assertions made online, during the early years of the Internet. The Emperor Norton Trust, a nonprofit that engages in Norton research and education, produced a 2018 bicentennial series, ''Emperor Norton at 200'', that took as its starting point a February 4, 1818, birth date for Norton. Supporting and participating in the series were a number of institutions that long have helped to preserve the historical record of Emperor Norton: the
California Historical Society
The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state hi ...
, the
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...
, the
Mechanics' Institute and the
Society of California Pioneers
The Society of California Pioneers, established in 1850, is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several gener ...
.
There are often-repeated historical claims that Joshua Norton arrived in San Francisco on a specific vessel, the ''Franzeska'', on November 23, 1849; that he arrived with $40,000, in whole or in part a bequest from his father's estate; and that he parlayed this into a fortune of $250,000. None of this is substantiated by contemporaneous documentation.
What is known is that, after Norton arrived in San Francisco, he enjoyed a good deal of success in commodities markets and in real estate speculation, and that by late 1852, he was one of the more prosperous, respected citizens of the city.
In December 1852, Norton thought he saw a business opportunity when China, facing a severe famine, placed a ban on the export of
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, causing the price of rice in San Francisco to increase from four to thirty-six cents per pound (9 to 79 cents/kg). When he heard the ''Glyde'', which was returning from Peru, was carrying of rice, he bought the entire shipment for $25,000 (or twelve and a half cents per pound), hoping to corner the market. Shortly after he signed the contract, several other shiploads of rice arrived from Peru, causing the price of rice to plummet to three cents a pound. Norton tried to void the contract, stating the dealer had misled him as to the quality of rice to expect.
For nearly two years, from early 1853 to late 1854, Norton and the rice dealers were involved in a protracted litigation. Although Norton prevailed in the lower courts, the case reached the
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
, which ruled against him in October 1854. Later, the Lucas Turner and Company bank foreclosed on his real estate holdings in
North Beach to pay Norton's debt.
He filed for insolvency in August 1856.
Norton continued to run newspaper ads selling various commodities. Although these ads appear to have run their course by mid 1857, there are other public traces of Norton during this period. In September 1857, he served on a jury for a case of a man accused of stealing a bar of gold from Wells, Fargo & Co. and, in August 1858, Norton ran an ad announcing his candidacy for U.S. Congress.
[John Lumea]
"'A New State of Things?' A Pre-Imperial Proclamation from Joshua Norton in July 1859,"
8 March 2022, The Emperor Norton Trust. By this time, he was living in reduced circumstances at a working class boarding house.
Reign as Emperor
Declaring himself emperor
By 1859, Norton had become completely discontented with what he considered the inadequacies of the legal and political structures of the United States. In July 1859, he issued a brief "Manifesto" addressed to the “Citizens of the Union”. It outlined in the broadest terms the national crisis as Joshua saw it and suggested the imperative for action to address this crisis at the most basic level. The Manifesto ran as a paid ad in the ''
San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin''.
Two months later, on September 17, 1859, Norton hand-delivered the following letter, declaring himself "Emperor of these United States", to the offices of the ''Bulletin'':
The paper printed the letter in that evening's edition, for humorous effect, and thus began Norton's whimsical 21-year "reign" over the United States.
Norton issued numerous decrees on matters of state, including a decree on October 12, 1859, to formally abolish the United States Congress. In it, he observed:
In this same decree, Norton repeated his order that all interested parties assemble at Musical Hall in San Francisco in February 1860 to "remedy the evil complained of."
In an imperial decree issued in January 1860, Norton summoned the Army to depose the elected officials of the U.S. Congress:
Norton's orders were ignored by the Army, and Congress likewise continued without any formal acknowledgement of the decree. A decree in July 1860 ordered the dissolution of the republic in favor of a temporary monarchy. Norton issued a mandate in 1862 ordering both the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches to publicly ordain him as "Emperor", hoping to resolve the many disputes that had resulted in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
Norton then turned his attention to other matters, both political and social. In a proclamation dated August 12, 1869, and published in the ''San Francisco Daily Herald'', he declared the abolition of the Democratic and Republican parties, explaining that he was "desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm."
The failure to treat Norton's adopted home city with appropriate respect was the subject of a particularly stern edict that often is cited as having been written by Norton in 1872, although evidence is elusive for the authorship, date, or source of this decree:
Norton was occasionally a visionary, and some of his imperial decrees exhibited profound foresight. He is said to have issued instructions to form a League of Nations, he explicitly forbade any form of conflict between religions or their sects, and he issued several decrees calling for the construction of a suspension bridge or tunnel connecting Oakland and San Francisco—with the last of these decrees showing his irritation at the lack of prompt obedience by the authorities:
Long after his death, similar structures were built in the form of the
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland ...
and the
Transbay Tube
The Transbay Tube is an underwater rail tunnel that carries Bay Area Rapid Transit's four transbay lines under San Francisco Bay between the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The tube is long, and attaches to twin bored tunnels ...
,
and there have been efforts since the 1930s to name the Bay Bridge after Emperor Norton or at least to add "Emperor Norton Bridge" as an honorary name for the bridge.
[
]
Norton's Imperial acts
Norton spent most of his daylight hours inspecting the streets; spending time in parks and libraries; and paying visits to newspaper offices and old friends in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley. In the evenings, he often was seen at political gatherings or at theatrical or musical performances.
He wore an elaborate blue uniform with gold-plated epaulettes, at some time given to him secondhand by officers of the United States Army post at the Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...
. He embellished this with a variety of accoutrements, including a beaver hat decorated with a peacock or ostrich feathers and a rosette, a walking stick and an umbrella. In the course of his rounds, he took note of the condition of the sidewalks and cable cars, the state of repair of public property, and the appearance of police officers. He also often had conversations on the issues of the day with those he encountered.
Norton caricaturist Edward Jump
Edward Jump (1831?-1883) was a French-American artist popular for his drawings and sketches in the United States during the mid-19th Century.
Biography
Jump was born in Paris, France, around 1831. His early life is not well documented, but he emi ...
started a rumor that two noted stray dogs named Bummer and Lazarus
Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that roamed the streets of San Francisco, California, United States, in the early 1860s. Recognized for their unique bond and their prodigious rat-killing ability, they became a fixture of city newspapers, w ...
(which were also San Francisco celebrities) were Norton's pets. Norton ate at free-lunch counters where he shared his meals with the dogs, although he did not in fact own them.
Special officer Armand Barbier was part of a local auxiliary force whose members were called "policemen" but in fact were private security guards paid by neighborhood residents and business owners, and he arrested Norton in 1867 to commit him to involuntary treatment for a mental disorder. The arrest outraged the citizens and sparked scathing editorials in the newspapers, including the ''Daily Alta'' which wrote "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line". Police Chief Patrick Crowley ordered Norton released and issued a formal apology on behalf of the police force, and Norton granted an Imperial Pardon to Barbier. Police officers of San Francisco thereafter saluted him as he passed in the street.
Norton did receive some tokens of recognition for his position. The 1870 U.S. census lists Joshua Norton as 50 years old and residing at 624 Commercial Street, and his occupation is listed as "Emperor". It also notes that he was insane.
During the 1860s and 1870s, there were occasional anti-Chinese demonstrations in the poorer districts of San Francisco, and riots took place, sometimes resulting in fatalities. Starting in the late 1870s, these riots were fomented at rallies that took place on Sunday afternoons at the sandlots across from City Hall. The rallies were led by Denis Kearney
Denis Kearney (1847–1907) was a California labor leader from Ireland who was active in the late 19th century and was known for his anti-Chinese activism. Called "a demagogue of extraordinary power," he frequently gave long and caustic speeches ...
, a leader of the anti-Chinese Workingmen's Party of California
The Workingmen's Party of California (WPC) was an American labor organization, founded in 1877 and led by Denis Kearney, J.G Day, and H. L. Knight.
Organizational history
As a result of heavy unemployment from the 1873-78 national depression, ...
. At a sandlot rally held on April 28, 1878, Emperor Norton appeared just before the start of proceedings, stood on a small box and challenged Kearney directly, telling him and the assembled crowd to disperse and go home. Norton was unsuccessful, but the incident was widely reported in local papers over the next couple of days.
Norton issued his own money in the form of scrip, or promissory notes, which were accepted from him by some restaurants in San Francisco. These notes came in denominations between fifty cents and ten dollars, and the few surviving notes are collector's items that routinely sell for more than $10,000 at auction.
Foreign diplomacy
Throughout his reign, Norton commented on the policies and actions of foreign governments, issuing proclamations and sending letters to foreign leaders in attempts to establish congenial and fruitful relations with them and their countries and, if he felt it necessary, to cajole better behavior.
In 1862, Mexico was invaded by French Emperor
Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires.
Details
A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procl ...
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
after not being able to pay war reparations after the disastrous Reform War
The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...
. Napoleon installed the Habsburg Maximilian I as his puppet ruler. That news would quickly reach the United States, and in San Francisco one man suggested that Emperor Norton take the title "Protector of Mexico"—both because no one had been appointed protector yet and because of a popular legend stating Norton was the son of Napoleon III. Norton happily obliged adding the title to many of his proclamations. But, he later would revoke this title, stating "It is impossible to protect such an unsettled nation".
Norton wrote Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
multiple letters suggesting they could marry to strengthen ties between their nations. This would ultimately prove futile as the Queen would never respond.
Norton also sent multiple letters to Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...
, the King of Hawaii
Kamehameha I established the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1795 after conquering most of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, Kaumualiʻi became a vassal of Kamehameha I, who therefore emerged as the sole sovereign of the island chain of Hawaiʻi. His dynas ...
at the time, regarding an estate in Hawaii. Near the end of his reign Kamehameha would refuse to recognize the democratic U.S. government, instead opting to only recognize Norton as sole leader of the United States.
Later years and death
Norton was the subject of many tales. One popular story suggested that he was the son of Emperor Napoleon III and that his claim of coming from South Africa was a ruse to prevent persecution. Rumors also circulated that Norton was supremely wealthy and was feigning poverty because he was miserly.
Starting a few years after Norton declared himself Emperor, local newspapers—notably, the ''Daily Alta California''—began to print fictitious decrees; it is believed that newspaper editors themselves drafted these fake proclamations to suit their own agendas. Weary of this, Norton in January 1871 named the Black-owned and -operated ''Pacific Appeal'' his "imperial organ." Between September 1870 and May 1875, the ''Appeal'' published some 250 proclamations over the signature of Norton I. Historians and researchers who have studied Norton closely generally regard these proclamations as being authentic.
On the evening of January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed on the corner of California Street and Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) in front of Old Saint Mary's Cathedral while on his way to a lecture at the California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...
. His collapse was immediately noticed, and "the police officer on the beat hastened for a carriage to convey him to the City Receiving Hospital", according to the next day's obituary in the San Francisco ''Morning Call''. Norton died before a carriage could arrive. The ''Call'' reported, "On the reeking pavement, in the darkness of a moonless night, under the dripping rain... Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life". Two days later, the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' led its article on Norton's funeral with the headline "Le Roi Est Mort." (lit. "The King is dead")
It quickly became evident that Norton had died in complete poverty, contrary to rumors of wealth. Five or six dollars in small change was found on his person, and a search of his room at the boarding house on Commercial Street turned up a single gold sovereign, worth around $2.50. His possessions included his collection of walking sticks, his rather battered saber, a variety of headgear 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 that he sold to tourists at a fictitious 7% interest. There were fake telegrams purporting to be from Emperor Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
congratulating Norton on his forthcoming marriage to Queen Victoria, and from the President of France predicting that such a union would be disastrous to world peace. Also found were his letters to Queen Victoria and 98 shares of stock in a defunct gold mine.
Initial funeral arrangements were for a pauper's coffin of simple redwood. However, members of a San Francisco businessmen's association called the Pacific Club established a funeral fund that provided for a handsome rosewood casket and arranged a dignified farewell. Norton's funeral on Sunday, January 10 was solemn, mournful, and large. Paying their respects were members of "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". The next day, the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' reported, under the headline "Le Roi Est Mort," that some 10,000 people had come to view the Emperor's body in advance of the 2 p.m. funeral. Notwithstanding the later legend of a "two-mile-long cortege," the ''Chronicle'' reported in the same article that people lined the streets for only the first block or two; the Emperor's casket was attended by "only three carriages," with no mourners on foot; and that there were "about thirty people" at the burial service in the Masonic Cemetery.
In 1934, Emperor Norton's remains were transferred to a grave site at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of the largest cemeteries in Nashville. Among those interred or entombed in the cemetery, there are many prominent members of the country music ge ...
in Colma, California
Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town w ...
.
In popular culture
Details of Norton's life story may have been forgotten, but he has been immortalized in literature. Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
resided in San Francisco during part of Emperor Norton's public life, and he modeled the character of the King in ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...
'' on him. Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
made Norton a character in his 1892 novel ''The Wrecker''. Stevenson's stepdaughter Isobel Osbourne
Isobel "Belle" Osbourne Strong Field (September 18, 1858 – June 26, 1953) was an author and the daughter of Fanny Stevenson and sister of Lloyd Osbourne. Through her mother's second marriage, she was a stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson.
...
mentioned Norton in her autobiography ''This Life I've Loved'', stating that he "was a gentle and kindly man, and fortunately found himself in the friendliest and most sentimental city in the world, the idea being 'let him be emperor if he wants to.' San Francisco played the game with him."
In more modern times, the life of Emperor Norton is the inspiration for ''L'Empereur Smith
''L'Empereur Smith'' is a ''Lucky Luke'' adventure written by Goscinny and illustrated by Morris. It is the forty fifth book in the series and was originally published in French by Dargaud
Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions ...
'', a Lucky Luke
''Lucky Luke'' is a Western ''bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their par ...
comic book adventure published in 1976. Norton also appears as a character in the comic book ''The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'', Vol. 2, No. 31, "Three Septembers and a January", by Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
and Shawn McManus
Shawn McManus (born June 30, 1958) is an American artist who has worked extensively over three decades for DC Comics and other companies, notably for DC's Vertigo imprint including the ''Fables'' series.
Comics
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, ...
, and is voiced by John Lithgow in the audio book version of the comic.
There have been a number of television adaptations of the Norton story. In the June 15, 1956, episode of the western anthology series ''Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'', titled "Emperor Norton", Parker Garvie played the title character. In the February 27, 1966, episode of the western television series Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
, titled "The Emperor Norton", Sam Jaffe
Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950) and ap ...
played the lead role. The episode also featured William Challee
William John Challee (April 6, 1904 – March 11, 1989) was an American actor.
Biography
Challee was born in Chicago and was a student at Lake View High School.
Challee appeared on Broadway by 1926 and by 1931 in early Group Theatre produc ...
as Sam Clemens
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, a.k.a. Mark Twain. In the December 18, 1956 episode of ''Broken Arrow (TV series)
''Broken Arrow'' is a Western (genre), Western television series, series which ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afte ...
'' season 1, episode 11, titled "The Conspirators" Florenz Ames played the "Emperor Norton".
Since 1974, the Imperial Council of San Francisco has been conducting an annual pilgrimage to Norton's grave in Colma, California, just outside San Francisco. In January 1980, ceremonies were conducted in San Francisco to honor the 100th anniversary of the death of "the one and only Emperor of the United States".
The Emperor Norton Trust
The Emperor Norton Trust is a nonprofit whose mission is to honor the life and advance the legacy of Joshua Abraham Norton (1818–1880), better known as the 19th-century San Francisco eccentric, Emperor Norton.
Originally known as The Emperor's ...
—founded and based in San Francisco from 2013 to 2019, and originally known as The Emperor's Bridge Campaign—is a nonprofit that engages in research, education, and advocacy to advance the legacy of Emperor Norton.
Emperor Norton is considered a patron saint of Discordianism
Discordianism is a religion, philosophy, or paradigm centered on Eris, a.k.a. Discordia, the Goddess of chaos. Discordianism uses archetypes or ideals associated with her. It was founded after the 1963 publication of its "holy book," the ''Pri ...
, and a park in the Republic of Molossia
The Republic of Molossia, also known as Molossia (), is a micronation claiming sovereignty over of land near Dayton, Nevada. The micronation has not received recognition from any of the member states of the United Nations. It was founded by K ...
is named "Norton Park".
Naming efforts
There have been perennial efforts to name major public landmarks after Emperor Norton.
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
In 1939, the group E Clampus Vitus
The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of Western United States, the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode#California Mother Lode, Mother ...
commissioned a plaque commemorating Emperor Norton's call for the construction of a suspension bridge between San Francisco and Oakland, via Yerba Buena Island (formerly Goat Island). The group intended to place the plaque on the recently opened San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland ...
or, failing that, the new Transbay Terminal
The San Francisco Transbay Terminal was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, United States, roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2 ...
. This was not approved by the bridge authorities, however, and the plaque was installed at the Cliff House in 1955. It was moved to the Transbay Terminal in 1986, in connection with the 50th anniversary of the bridge. The Terminal was closed and demolished in 2010 as part of the project to construct a new Transbay Transit Center
The Transbay Transit Center (officially the Salesforce Transit Center for sponsorship purposes) is a transit station in downtown San Francisco. It serves as the primary bus terminal — and potentially as a future rail terminal — for the San ...
, and the plaque was placed in storage. After being restored in late 2018, the plaque was rededicated and reinstalled at the new transit center in September 2019 but,after being vandalized in 2020, was moved in 2021 to Molloy's Tavern, in Colma, Calif.
There have been two 21st-century campaigns to name all or parts of the Bay Bridge for Emperor Norton.
* 2004–2005
San Francisco District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin
Aaron Dan Peskin (born June 17, 1964) is an American elected official in San Francisco, California. He serves as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 3, and is currently Dean of the Board. He was elected in ...
introduced a resolution to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in November 2004, after a campaign by San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Phil Frank
Phil Frank (March 27, 1943 – September 13, 2007) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of the San Francisco-based comic strip ''Farley'' and the artist on nationally syndicated comic strip ''The Elderberries''.
Works
In additio ...
calling for the entire bridge to be named for Norton.
On December 14, 2004, the Board approved a modified version of this resolution, calling for only "new additions," i.e., the planned replacement for the bridge's eastern section, to be named "The Emperor Norton Bridge". Neither the City of Oakland nor Alameda County passed any similar resolution, so the effort went no further.
* 2013–2022
In June 2013, eight members of the California Assembly and two members of the California Senate introduced a resolution to name the western section of the bridge for former California state Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. In response, there have been public efforts seeking to revive the earlier Emperor Norton effort. An online petition launched in August 2013 calls for the entire bridge system to be named for him. The petition was the impetus for the creation of The Emperor's Bridge Campaign—now known as The Emperor Norton Trust—which carried forward the bridge-naming effort through 2022, citing the precedent of 30 California bridges for which the state has authorized multiple names. The Trust called on the legislature simply to add "Emperor Norton Bridge" as an honorary name for the Bay Bridge, leaving in place all existing names. Most recently, the organization hoped to sponsor a legislative resolution that would take effect in 2022, the 150th anniversary of Emperor Norton's proclamations of 1872, setting out the original vision for the bridge. The legislature did not take up the issue in 2022, and the Trust currently has suspended its bridge-naming effort.
Clock tower of the San Francisco Ferry Building
In October 2022, The Emperor Norton Trust announced a new effort to have the San Francisco Ferry Building clock tower named "The Emperor Norton Tower" in 2023 — the 125th anniversary of the opening of the building in 1898.Emperor Norton Tower proposal
The Emperor Norton Trust.
See also
*
Bummer and Lazarus
Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that roamed the streets of San Francisco, California, United States, in the early 1860s. Recognized for their unique bond and their prodigious rat-killing ability, they became a fixture of city newspapers, w ...
*
Frederick Coombs
Frederick Coombs (sometimes Willie Coombs and also known as George Washington II) was an eccentric who lived in San Francisco in the 19th century and believed himself to be George Washington. For a time he was as popular a figure as Joshua A. Nort ...
*
José Sarria
José Julio Sarria (December 13, 1922 – August 19, 2013), also known as The Grand Mere, Absolute Empress I de San Francisco, and the Widow Norton, was an American political activist from San Francisco, California, who in 1961 became the fir ...
*
Frank Chu
Frank Chu (born March 24, 1960) is an eccentric and conspiracy theorist from San Francisco. Since 1999 or earlier, Chu has been campaigning to impeach an array of former U.S. Presidents he considers guilty of collaborating with a nefarious netw ...
Notes
References
*
*
* Cowan, Robert Ernest
"Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico (Joshua A. Norton, 1819–1880)"in ''Quarterly of the California Historical Society'', October, 1923. San Francisco: California Historical Society, 1923.
* Cowan, Robert E., et al. ''The Forgotten Characters of Old San Francisco''. Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1964.
*
*
*
*
* Lumea, John (2014–present)
Articles on the life and legacy of Emperor Nortonfor The Emperor Norton Trust.
*
External links
The Emperor Norton Trust nonprofit that advances the legacy of Emperor Norton through research, education and advocacy
* "Emperor Norton's Grave" a
Atlas Obscura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Emperor
1810s births
1880 deaths
American folklore
History of San Francisco
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People from San Francisco
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English emigrants to the United States
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People from Deptford
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American monarchists
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Emperor Norton
Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...
19th-century monarchs in North America
Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Colma, California)
Burials at Masonic Cemetery (San Francisco)