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1819
| born in London, England on February 14 to
John and Sarah Norton [John and Sarah married
at Epping Essex u.k. June 30, 1793 and immigrated
to s.africa in 1820.had two sons--Philip
and Joshua - Source: Jos Driver, a decendent
of Philip Norton] |
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1849
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Came to San Francisco from South Africa with $40,000
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1854
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Lost the considerable fortune he had built up in real-estate speculation by trying to corner the rice market in San Francisco
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1859
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September 17 - Issued the first of his now famous proclamations by proclaiming himself the Emperor of the United States
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Proclamations
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He continued to make proclamations throughout his reign. These included commanding that the Golden Gate bridge be built and one about the name of the city,
"Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abdominal
word 'Frisco,' which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor."
Penalty for noncompliance was $25.
Newspapers of the day printed his proclamations (and even made some up which were not from Norton!)
Many of the “decrees” attributed to Norton
I were fakes; written in jest by newspaper
editors at the time for amusement, or for
political purposes. Those “decrees” listed
here were, we believe, actually issued by
Norton. --sfmuseum.
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Norton Notes
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An Exhibit of the Emperor's notes -
In order to pay his bills he issued paper notes, mostly in 50 cent denominations but some $5 and $10 notes exist. Today they are worth far more than the face value (if they can be found).
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Politics
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In 1869 he abolished both the Democratic and Republican parties, declaring "Being desirous of allaying the dissension's of party strife now existing within our realm, [I] do hereby dissolve and
abolish the Democratic and Republican parties, and also do hereby degree the disfranchisement and imprisonment, for
not more than ten, nor less than five years, to all persons leading to any violation of this our imperial decree."
--San Francisco Herald, August 4, 1869
Another time he called upon the other leaders of the world to join him in forming a League of Nations where disputes between nations
could be resolved peacefully.
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1880
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Died January 8, on California St.
On January 10, he was buried in the Masonic Cemetery. The funeral cortege was two miles long -
Between 10,000 and 30,000 people were reported to have attended.
See: Le Roi Est Mort
Who Was Emperor Norton? ... some of the messages taken from his
pockets at the Morgue: |
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1934
| grave was moved to Colma Cemetery on June
30th. Location: Map
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Articles About the Emperor
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Bibliography
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Joshua Abraham Norton (1819-1880) - a proper Bibliography worthy of the Emperor
- contains references to books, magazines,
newspapers
An Emperor Norton Bibliography at
Spiritual Matters
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| Archives |
Emperor Norton's Archives |
