August 12, 2005
we’ve had our fair share of peculiar citizens over the last 150 years, but in my judgement none compare to the “emperor of the united states and protector of mexico”, his excellency norton the first! whether or not he was truly a secret descendent of louis xvi and marie antoinette or not is, to say the least, open to question, but the city of san francisco embraced this threadbare monarch in a way not seen before or since. was he crazy… or crazy like a fox? i think the truth is that it just doesn’t matter. as the cincinnati enquirer wrote upon his death in 1880, he was “an emperor without enemies, a king without a kingdom, supported in life by the willing tribute of a free people.”
there’s a movement underway to rename the san francisco bay bridge in his honor… and though oakland is more than a little lukewarm to the concept, c’mon: it was his idea! all hail emperor norton.
thanks to sam taylor and the moons of jupiter for the use of the track “memoirs of don quixote”. check them out at their garageband website. use licensed under creative commons.
10 responses to “#21: emperor norton”
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Pingback from douglas.nerad » Sparkletack: San Francisco History
May 29, 2007 at 11:11 pm[...] I just discovered a podcast blog called Sparkletack that covers San Francisco and particularly San Francisco history. This is the first time I’ve ever been interested in listening to a podcast and so far I’ve been pretty impressed with it. This place has such a colorful wild history that most people aren’t even aware of; check out the American original steam beer or my icon Emperor Norton or America’s first black millionaire. So much. So brilliant. Thank you Richard Miller! [...]
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Pingback from SFWeekly: “Nonconformity Still Reigns” » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
July 2, 2008 at 8:53 am[...] kooks and characters: In the beginning of our city’s love affair with odd ducks, there was Emperor Norton. A businessman in Gold Rush San Francisco who lost his pants on an investment in Peruvian rice, he [...]
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Pingback from Something new: weekly Time-capsule podcast, September 15-21 » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
September 17, 2008 at 7:24 pm[...] began Joshua Norton’s 21-year reign over an amused and tolerant city — and a mostly unsuspecting United States of [...]
Sparkletack is the blog and podcast of a guy who's obsessed with diggin' up San Francisco history. 
August 12, 2005 at 4:55 pm
the royal dogs were called Bummer und Lazarus (i think … =:o)
August 12, 2005 at 4:56 pm
I’ve been listening to your show for a few weeks now, and I really enjoy it. This is my favorite episode to date, though. Great work.
August 19, 2005 at 4:56 pm
I almost cannot believe this story, it is amazing - and maybe the craziest thing I have ever heard! Great research, Richard, and very nicely told… Why didn’t I learn about the emperor when I got my masters degree in American history??? ;-)
August 19, 2005 at 4:56 pm
thanks, dear! :) i know, it is crazy. his story is just about inexplicable…don’t know if it could have happened at any other place and time, really… and still hard to understand! ganz schön toll aber, oder?
August 26, 2005 at 4:56 pm
I don’t know what has happened to R. In life-outside-digital-communications, he is so opposite of smiley-faced emoticons. Is it growth or degradation? And who invented emoticons anyway? Someone in San Francisco probably.
October 14, 2005 at 4:57 pm
LOVE the quote about “Frisco.” So true as I continue to correct people. It’s “The City!”
October 14, 2005 at 4:57 pm
yeah, isn’t that great? i keep meaning to have a sign made… or maybe a little card to hand to “offenders”.
in fairness, there’s a good case that the city was being called “frisco” as early as the 1850’s… but does that legitimate it? guess i still have to defer to the emperor.