Proclamation of Emperor Norton

Date: September 17, 1859 • Location: San Francisco, United States

Disgruntled with the legal and political structures of the United States, Joshua Norton (pictured) distributed letters to various newspapers in San Francisco proclaiming himself to be Emperor Norton.

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the 17th-largest city and second-densest major city in the United States, with a 2025 population of 826,079. It is the fourth-most populous city in California and the second most-populous in the Bay Area. Some 4.6 million residents live in the city's metropolitan statistical area. Around 9.2 million live in the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area, the fifth-largest in the United States. San Francisco is a global center for technology and finance, and is well-known for its affluence, eclectic architecture, and mild climate.