旧金山冷知识：曾经有人在这里称帝，自封美国皇帝

谁说美国没有皇帝，旧金山之前就有个人称帝，这个人叫约书亚·诺顿 Joshua Norton

图片来源：Wikipedia

但他可不是什么一方军阀，他就是个做生意的人，在这里做了一笔巨亏的生意，名利双输，结果等他再次出现的时候就说自己要做皇帝了。

更神奇的是，旧金山居然还真有不少人拥戴他，虽然他一点政治实权都没有。他名下还发行了货币。

以他的名义发行的10美元.图片来源：Wikipedia

当然，外界普遍还是认为他是个疯子，当时旧金山本地也有商家出售以他为主题的纪念品来赚钱。

In September 1859, San Francisco’s favorite eccentric resident, Joshua Abraham Norton, declared himself America’s emperor. Norton initially made a living as a businessman, but he lost his fortune investing in Peruvian rice to sell in China due to a Chinese rice shortage. He bought rice at 12 cents per pound from Peruvian ships, but more Peruvian ships arrived in port which caused the price to drop sharply to 4 cents. He then lost a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, and his public prominence faded. He re-emerged in September 1859, laying claim to the position of Emperor of the United States. Though Norton received many favors from the city, merchants also capitalized on his notoriety by selling souvenirs bearing his name. "San Francisco lived off the Emperor Norton," Norton's biographer William Drury wrote, "not Norton off San Francisco."

1859年9月，旧金山备受欢迎的怪人约书亚·亚伯拉罕·诺顿曾经宣布自己为美国皇帝。诺顿最初以经商为生，但他在投资秘鲁大米时亏了很多钱。当时因为中国大米短缺，他采购了秘鲁大米，打算卖给中国人。他以12美分/磅的价格从秘鲁船只上采购了大米，但很多秘鲁船只都抵达了港口，这使大米价格骤降至4美分。后来，他试图通过诉讼使他的大米合同无效，结果又输掉了官司，而他的公众知名度也随之下降。1859年9月他再次出现，声称要成为美国皇帝。尽管诺顿在这座城市里受到了很多人的喜爱，但商人也利用了他的坏名声来赚钱，出售印有他名字的纪念品。诺顿的传记作者威廉·德鲁里写道，“是旧金山靠诺顿皇帝赚钱，而不是诺顿靠旧金山赚钱。”