A bankrupt merchant crowned himself Emperor of the United States

In 1859, Joshua Norton, ruined by a failed business venture, proclaimed himself 'Emperor of these United States' in San Francisco's newspapers. The city indulged him for two decades: he issued his own currency that local merchants honored, dined free at restaurants, and decreed a bridge across San Francisco Bay decades before one was built. Around 10,000 people attended his funeral in 1880.

— Standard historical accounts, Emperor Norton — San Francisco, 1859-1880