Emperor Of These United States

Joshua Abraham Norton was a fascinating man. He lived from 1819 until 1880, spending his latter years living in San Francisco. An immigrant from South Africa, he became a successful businessman but he lost his entire fortune on a rice deal gone wrong and he became quite insane - or perhaps just weird, depending on your point of view.

He formally declared himself to be "Emperor of these United States." His local neighbours liked to humour him and play along, and gradually he became famous within the city for his eccentricities and kind heart. Tourists would visit just to meet him. As for his income, he often traded official certificates with his country's currency for regular American money, and eventually many of the local establishments treated these papers as legal tender. He would publish official edicts in the local newspapers, decreeing that a bridge be built across the bay and that U.S. Congress be dissolved.

At one point, the local police arrested him with the intent of forcibly admitting him to an insane asylum. However, he was so beloved by this time that there was a public outcry against this action, with many editorials defending him. As a result, this self-styled monarch was released with a formal apology which stated "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line." From then on, the local constabulary made a point of saluting whenever they came across him.

Upon his death, a local businessman's club funded a dignified funeral. Thirty thousand people lined the streets to pay their respects to this once-and-only Emperor of these United States.

Source: Wikipedia. I learned of this real man because of a story in the Sandman comic series by Neil Gaiman entitled "Three Septembers and a January."