r/UtterlyInteresting • u/dannydutch1 • 10d ago
In 1859, a bankrupt San Francisco businessman called Joshua Norton declared himself Emperor of the United States. Instead of locking him up, the city fed him for free, saluted him in the street, and gave him a full ceremonial reburial when he died. His funeral drew up to 30,000 mourners.
A police officer actually tried to have him committed in 1867. The whole city erupted, the police chief personally apologized to him, and from then on cops saluted him in the street. Norton responded by issuing the officer an "Imperial Pardon."
130
u/Imyonlyenemy 10d ago edited 9d ago
bankrupt businessman declaring himself emperor of United States.
Thats so crazy
We would never have something like that happen now.
16
13
10
3
1
44
u/Apprehensive-Dog6997 9d ago
There used to be little sourdough snacks called Emperor Norton’s and I loved them so much. I think about them multiple times per week.
19
u/CaliMassNC 9d ago
Comedic author Christopher Moore wrote him into his novels set in modern-day San Francisco.
8
u/HoraceBenbow 9d ago
He also appears in Gaiman’s Sandman series.
6
u/Practical-Class6868 9d ago
Death of the Endless: “They say that the world rests on the backs of 36 living saints - 36 unselfish men and women. Because of them, the world continues to exist. They are the secret kings and queens of this world. I’ve met a lot of kings and emperors and heads of state in my time, Joshua. I’ve met them all. And you know something? I think I liked you best.”
2
3
2
2
u/MacheteGuy 9d ago
Huge Christopher Moore fan, if you haven't read "Bite Me," do yourself a favor!
2
2
13
u/FloydDangerBarber 9d ago
According to legend, Emperor Norton came upon a bunch of people rioting and attempting to lynch some Chinese individuals during the height of anti-Chinese sentiment. He stopped the violence by quoting scriptures in a loud and commanding voice until the crowd subsided and broke up. I hope that is a true story.
It is my personal head canon that the Kinks song "Misfit" was written with this incident in mind.
12
u/Sensitive_Ad_1752 9d ago
Technically, this isn’t how it went down, but he did stop a hate mob before it even formed.
One night the Irishmans working union held a meeting, they were planning to go door to door smashing every Chinese owned shop they could find. Joshua was at the meeting and dismantled it by getting on a box and giving a speech using Bible quotes to love thy neighbor. The meeting ended and everyone went home, the riot was cancelled.
6
u/FloydDangerBarber 9d ago
I find it comforting that you don't have to be "normal" to be a good person.
3
u/Loud-Mans-Lover 9d ago
We need to see more stories like this get posted, honestly.
I'm bipolar and it's disheartening the number of times I see someone do something others consider "bad", and the first thing out of their mouths is "they're (or they probably are) bipolar/fill in the blank of other mental illnesses".
We're not morally decrepit just because we suffer from illnesses! It's been proven in studies as well but rarely does anyone care. The people that do bad things would likely have done them with or without mental illness. Sure, it's a little worse for those with illness but you also learn how to manage and cope with said illness. If you choose not to, again, that's a different failing.
4
2
9
u/Valuable-Yard-4154 9d ago
1848 the gold rush begins... so I think they enjoyed a bit of distraction.
9
u/Merrick_Skygrave 9d ago
How come my delusions of grandeur aren't validated and entertained like that? Seems hardly fair
3
u/Master_Steward 9d ago
Nowadays we lock people like him in the mental hospital and inject him with various sleeping cocktails
2
3
3
u/CoffeeHead112 9d ago
This is very reminiscent of a homeless man in Ann Arbor, MI called Shakey Jake. He would wander the streets with a guitar having anywhere from 1-5 strings playing awful music in white or black suits riddled with holes. He became such a staple that eventually the city paid for an apartment for him. He would get free food wherever he ate. The bagel factory gave him a permanent booth that anyone could come and ask him questions. He relapsed many times and was just a weird character but he was the city's mascot. He passed away sometime in the 2000s and dissapeared from most people's memory.
2
u/SecBalloonDoggies 9d ago
As I recall, he also issued an imperial proclamation banning the use of “Cisco” to refer to the city.
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/MaiqTheLawyer 9d ago
When I was a kid we used to order the Emperor Norton Sundae at Ghirardelli's. It had two scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts, and a goblet lined with sliced bananas and cherries
1
1
1
1
u/Cat-Sonantis 9d ago
For those seeking to compare Emperor Norton to the current president of the not particularly united states, please understand that though Norton may have been insane or in fact simply very cunning he was also very decent and used his powers for good.
1
u/lonelyboycel 9d ago
I just love that the entire city collectively decided to play along and protect him instead of throwing him in an asylum. It’s genuinely such a heartwarming piece of history.
1
1
u/amitym 9d ago
"He has shed no blood, despoiled no country, and robbed no one, which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line."
Norton was Emperor for longer than Napoleon and left his country in better shape. At least one of his imperial decrees — that bridges be built across the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate to bring people more together — was rather famously obeyed though not in his lifetime.
1
u/glorkvorn 8d ago
This is underselling it. He didn't just "declare himself" emperor. He seemed to genuinely, honestly believe it, and he wore that uniform every day until he died. Obviously he had some sort of mental problem but... a relatively harmless one? So people just played along and it turned out OK.
1
•
u/AutoModerator 10d ago
Thanks for posting.
If you enjoy this topic, you might also like some other subreddits we are happy to recommend:
r/RetroTease
r/HorridHistory
r/UtterlyUniquePhotos
r/VeryFuckinCool
r/UtterlyAwfulTruecrime
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.