THIRD TIME THE CHARM? — Over the last 12 years, The Emperor Norton Trust has launched and led two different campaigns to name a major landmark after Emperor Norton: (1) the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and (2) the SF Ferry Building clock tower. Here's a third proposal: Name Yerba Buena Tunnel — the tunnel that makes the Bay Bridge possible — “Emperor Norton Tunnel.” Next year is the 90th anniversary of the bridge and the tunnel. And it's the 180th anniversary of Emperor Norton's first arrival in the United States. Go to EmperorNortonTunnel.org and click "Learn More" to read our proposal.

The Emperor Norton Trust

TO HONOR THE LIFE + ADVANCE THE LEGACY OF JOSHUA ABRAHAM NORTON

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Filtering by Tag: Original Proclamation

Filtering by Author: John Lumea

The Papers Outside San Francisco That Published Emperor Norton's Original Proclamation

It appears that the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin was the only San Francisco paper that ran Joshua Norton’s Proclamation of 17 September 1859 declaring himself “Emperor of these United States.”

But, it turns out that there were six other papers outside San Francisco that published the Proclamation as news during the 2½-month period from mid September to early December 1859.

Three of these six papers were in Northern California. Two were in the South. And one was on the East Coast.

Only one of the six — the Daily National Democrat of Marysville, Calif. — published verbatim the text that appeared in the Bulletin, including the Bulletin’s editorial headline and introduction.

The other five papers all featured some combination of a different headline; no headline; or a different intro text.

Click below to see the Proclamation as it appeared — and the Emperor as he was introduced — in each of these six newspapers. If other examples surface, we’ll add them here.

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