DiscoverScroll article

Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818 – January 8, 1880) was a resident of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 declared himself "Emperor of these United States" in a proclamation that he signed "Norton I., Emperor of the United States".

Commonly known as Emperor Norton, he took the secondary title "Protector of Mexico" in 1866. Born in England and raised in South Africa, Norton left Cape Town in late 1845, sailing from Liverpool to Boston in early 1846 and eventually arriving in San Francisco in late 1849. Norton proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" in September 1859, a role he played for the rest of his life. Norton had no formal political power but was treated deferentially in San Francisco and elsewhere in California, and currency issued in his name was honored in some of the establishments he frequented. Some considered Norton to be insane or eccentric, 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. Norton was 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.

Long after his death, similar structures were built in the form of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube, 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 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.

Norton as Emperor Norton also appears as a character alongside Mark Twain in the issue #31 "Three Septembers and a January" of the graphic novel series The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, where his delusion is caused by Morpheus, the King of Dreams and Nightmares. The Emperor Norton Trust, founded and based in San Francisco from 2013 to 2019, and originally known as The Emperor's Bridge Campaign, is a nonprofit, now based in Boston and San Francisco, that engages in research, education, and advocacy to advance the legacy of Emperor Norton.

In February 2023, San Francisco Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin introduced a resolution to add "Emperor Norton Place" as a commemorative name for the 600 block of Commercial Street.

After successive efforts to build support for naming the San Francisco Ferry Building clock tower "Emperor Norton Tower" in 2023 (the 125th anniversary of the building) and in 2024 (the 175th anniversary of Joshua Norton's arrival in San Francisco), The Emperor Norton Trust returned to the Bay Bridge. In August 2025, the Trust introduced a proposal that the California state legislature name the bridge's tunnel through Yerba Buena Island the "Emperor Norton Tunnel" in 2026 — the 90th anniversary of the bridge and the 180th anniversary of Emperor Norton's original arrival in the United States in 1846.

More than 200 articles on the life and legacy of Emperor Norton for The Emperor Norton Trust. Emperor Norton of San Francisco : a look at the life and death and strange burials of the most famous eccentric of gold rush California. The essay includes an Emperor Norton section that is a nearly verbatim version of Cowan's 1923 article on Norton for the California Historical Society (see Cowan, Robert Ernest. "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico (Joshua A. Emperor Norton, life and experiences of a notable character in San Francisco, 1849–1880.

The Emperor Norton Trust, nonprofit that advances the legacy of Emperor Norton through research, education and advocacy

Quick Facts

• More than 200 articles on the life and legacy of Emperor Norton for The Emperor Norton Trust.
• Norton proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" in September 1859, a role he played for the rest of his life.
• Commonly known as Emperor Norton, he took the secondary title "Protector of Mexico" in 1866.
• The Emperor Norton Trust, nonprofit that advances the legacy of Emperor Norton through research, education and advocacy
• "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico (Joshua A.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Emperor Norton". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.