In January 1880, a man collapsed and died on a San Francisco street with a few dollars, a ceremonial sword, and a fake telegram from the Tsar of Russia in his pockets. The next day a newspaper headline read The King Is Dead, and some 10,000 people turned out to view his casket. This is the story of Joshua Abraham Norton, self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States.

This episode traces Norton's rise as a cutthroat commodities merchant, his catastrophic bet to corner the rice market, his financial ruin, and his reinvention as a beloved monarch who reigned over San Francisco for two decades on charm and the city's collective goodwill.

• The 1852 Peruvian rice deal undone by ships he could not know were already sailing
• His 1859 proclamation naming himself Emperor and his decrees abolishing Congress
• The uniform, beaver  ...