10 Most Bizarre Ways To Become Famous
1. Joshua Norton
Joshua Abraham Norton, better known as Emperor Norton, was a citizen of San Francisco, California who proclaimed himself ‘Norton The First, Emperor Of The United States in 1859 at around forty years of age. He would later add the title ‘Protector Of Mexico’ to his list of honorifics, which will come as a relief for anyone worrying about who was looking after Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century.
Born in England, Norton grew up in South Africa, which of course made him perfectly qualified to accept sovereignty over the United States Of America. He arrived in San Francisco in 1848 having inherited a fairly sizeable estate from his parents, but ended up losing his fortune in a poor investment, filing for bankruptcy. Ten years after his triumphant arrival in America, Norton was living in a low income boarding house, penniless: the perfect position from which to begin his reign.
Norton would issue imperial decrees as he saw fit. As the sole leader of the nation, he saw no need for the legislature, and abolished it. Shortly after that, he abolished Congress itself. Despite his lack of legal and moral authority, the good people of San Francisco took him at his word: currency he issued in his own name was accepted as payment from him in eating and drinking establishments, and he was treated with respect and high esteem by his people.
It wasn’t all dictator-for-life posturing, either: Emperor Norton I also ordered a bridge to be built connecting San Francisco to Oakland, along with a tunnel along the same route. Long after his death, the authorities would mandate the construction of both connections to the big city. There are still those that make the case for renaming the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge ‘The Emperor Norton Bridge’.
Norton was a frequent sight on the streets of the city, wearing his blue dress uniform and feathered hat. When he died, it’s said that about 10,000 people lined the streets to salute his coffin, and that his funeral procession was two miles long. Not bad for a lonely pauper.