Nation of Celestial Space
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| Motto: tba (English: tba) Musical Anthem: tba |
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| Type of entity: | Micronation Micronation Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations... |
| Location: | Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,044 at the 2009 census.-Geography:Evergreen Park is located at . The suburb is surrounded by the city of Chicago on three of its sides, while Oak Lawn and Hometown border it on the west... |
| Area claimed: | Entire universe (excluding Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets... ) |
| Membership: | 19,057 (1959) |
| Date of foundation: | 1 January, 1949 |
| Leadership: | Founder & First Representative James Thomas Mangan |
| Purported organisational structure: | Hybrid republic Republic A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of... /monarchy Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected... |
| Language: | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
| Purported currency: | 100 Ergs = 10 Joules = 1 Celeston |
The Nation of Celestial Space (also known as Celestia) was a micronation
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
created by Evergreen Park
Evergreen Park, Illinois
Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,044 at the 2009 census.-Geography:Evergreen Park is located at . The suburb is surrounded by the city of Chicago on three of its sides, while Oak Lawn and Hometown border it on the west...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, resident James Thomas Mangan
James T. Mangan
James T. Mangan was a famous eccentric, public relations man and best-selling author on self-help topics who publicly claimed ownership of outer space in 1948....
. Celestia comprised the entirety of "outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
", which Mangan laid claim to on behalf of human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ity to ensure that no one country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
might establish a political hegemony there. As "Founder and First Representative", he registered this acquisition with the Recorder of Deeds and Titles
Recorder of deeds
Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...
of Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
on January 1, 1949. At its foundation Celestia claimed to have 19 members, among them Mangan's daughter Ruth; a decade later a booklet published by the group claimed that membership had grown to 19,057.
Mangan was active for many years in pursuing his claims on behalf of Celestia; in 1949 he notified the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
that Celestia had banned all further atmospheric nuclear tests. Later, as the space race got underway in earnest he sent angry letters of protest to the leaders of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the occasions that their early space flights encroached upon his "territory" - although he later waived these proscriptions to allow for satellite launches by the latter.
While Mangan and Celestia were politely ignored by the superpowers, there is evidence that at least some others were prepared to entertain his claims with a greater degree of seriousness; the first unfurling of the Celestian flag - featuring a blue sharp
Sharp (music)
In music, sharp, dièse , or diesis means higher in pitch and the sharp symbol raises a note by a half tone. Intonation may be flat, sharp, or both, successively or simultaneously...
symbol within a white disc against a blue field - was broadcast in June 1958 to a television audience of millions across the U.S., and the following day the flag was raised at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
building in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, to fly alongside those of the member nations of that organisation.
Despite these efforts, the Nation of Celestial Space is thought to have become defunct with the death of its founder. Its only surviving legacy is the series of stamps and silver and gold coins and passports issued in its name by Mangan from the late 1950s through to the mid 1960s.
Some of the coins minted by Celestia included a silver "1 Joule" of 4.15 grams (.925 silver) and a gold "1 Celeston" of 2.20 grams (.900 gold).Their scarcity ensures that they sell for many hundreds of dollars apiece on the rare occasions they come to market.
James Thomas Mangan's descendants include his son, James C. Mangan (deceased), his daughter Ruth Mangan Stump, "Princess of the Nation of Celestial Space", and three grandsons, Glen Stump, "Duke of Selenia", Dean Stump, "Duke of Mars", and Todd Stump, "Duke of the Milky Way".