"Everybody understands Mickey Mouse. Few understand Herman Hesse. Only a handful understood Albert Einstein. And nobody understood Emperor Norton."

--Joshua Norton Cabal, San Francisco

The above quote was written by Malaclypse The YOunger, K.S.C (aka Gregory Hill, co-founder of Discordianism which was a "new religion disguised as a joke" (Hoax Magazine).

On the 17th of September 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton, a forty years old fuckhead without any money, decided that America needed a monarch. He called the San Francisco Bulletin and declared himself Emperor. The good people in California didn't know what to do and Emperor Norton became a cult-figure during the following 21 years. The guy was probably serious and the occult order of San Francisco recognised im as an Illuminated Being. The papers printed his nonsense and everybody loved him. He even gave out bonds once to raise money and demanded taxes from wealthy citizens. Norton ate at fancy restaurants , but he rarely paid.
The Emperor was a hero of the underachievers on the streets. He wrote letters to Lincoln and Jefferson Davis when the Civil War started in 1961, ordering them to San Francisco to join him for a little bit of meditation. When his uniform fell apart some day, he demanded that the people should provide him with new clothes and all outfitters came up with new suits for Joshua the first. On January the 6th 1880, Norton died at a public meeting and he got a full Masonic funeral paid for by members of the Pacific Club. More then 30000 loyal citizen of the Emperor showed up to mourn for him. On June the 30th 1934 10000 came out to see his Imperial body being moved to his final resting place in Woodlwn Memorial Park, right next to the Coit tower in the suburb Colma, a place they also call cemetary city because the dead outnumber the living 3000 to 1.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman#31 is based on him and there is an excellent book on Norton I by William Drury. And of course there is the internet which hosts quite a lot of material about Norton.
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