Step back into Gold Rush-era San Francisco, a city teeming with fortune seekers, rogues, and visionaries. In this episode of Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, we explore one of the most fascinating figures in American history—Emperor Norton I, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.

Once a wealthy businessman, Joshua Norton’s fortunes crumbled after a disastrous investment in the rice market. But instead of fading into obscurity, he reinvented himself as a monarch, issuing proclamations that abolished Congress, defended civil rights, and even envisioned the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge—a project completed decades later.

For twenty years, San Francisco embraced him, treating their eccentric ruler with affection and respect. Today, activists still fight to name the Bay Bridge in his honor. Was he mad, a visionary, or both?

Join us on Bill Mick Live as we unravel the legend of Emperor Norton—America’s most beloved self-made sovereign.