Peter Fenelon Collier

{{short description|Irish-American publisher (1849–1909)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Peter Fenelon Collier | image = Peter Fenelon Collier - PPA2.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1849|12|12}} | birth_place = Myshall, Ireland | death_date = {{Death date and age|1909|04|23|1849|12|12}} | death_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Collier High School (Wickatunk, New Jersey, U.S.) | occupation = Publisher | spouse = {{Marriage|Catherine Dunne|July 1873}} | children = 1 son | awards = | education = | party = }}

'''Peter Fenelon Collier''' (December 12, 1849 – April 23, 1909) was an Irish-American publisher, the founder of the publishing company P. F. Collier & Son. He founded ''Collier's'' in 1888.<ref name="peter">{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Collier, Peter Fenelon}}</ref>

==Early life== Collier was born in Myshall, County Carlow, Ireland, on December 12, 1849, to Robert Collier and Catherine Fenelon. He emigrated to Dayton, Ohio, in the United States, in 1866 when he was 17-years old. He attended St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati for four years. He then worked for Sadler and Company, a publisher of school books. With $300 that he saved as a salesman, he bought the printing plates to ''Father Burke's Lectures''. In a single year, his sales were $90,000. In July 1873, he married Catherine Dunne.

In 1874, he published a biography of Pius IX and later published ''Chandler's Encyclopedia'' and ''Chamber's Encyclopedia''. He then began publishing "Collier's Library", a series of popular novels.<ref name=NewYorkTimes1909>{{cite news |title=Falls Dead in the Riding Club Early This Morning. Doctor Too Late. Head of Publishing House. Worked His Own Way Up from a Humble Beginning to Ownership of Collier's Weekly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/04/24/archives/peter-f-collier-dies-of-apoplexy-falls-dead-in-the-riding-club.html |quote=Peter F. Collier, publisher of Collier's Weekly and well known in society in the United States and abroad, dropped dead of apoplexy in the Riding Club, at 7 East 58th Street, early this morning. Mr. Collier had been attending the annual horse show which the club gives, and death overtook him as he was descending the stairs to the street. |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 24, 1909 |accessdate=2011-11-18 }}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

He later formed his own publishing company printing books for the Roman Catholic market. He founded ''Collier's Once a Week'' in April 1888. It was advertised as a magazine of "fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news". By 1892, ''Collier's Once a Week'' had a circulation of over 250,000, and was one of the largest selling magazines in the United States. In 1895, the name was changed to ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collier's: The National Weekly'' and eventually to simply ''Collier's''.

==Death== Collier died of a stroke while at his riding club on the morning of April 23, 1909 in Manhattan.<ref name=NewYorkTimes1909/>

His will left most of his estate to his wife and son. His estate included shares in the Rumson Polo Club, Monmouth Agricultural Fair Association, co-ownership of ''Collier's'', shares in the Meadow Yacht Club, shares in the Kentucky Horse Show Company, Tammany Publishing Company, and a life insurance policy. All his assets were liquidated and amounted to $2,890,440 (approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2890440|1909|r=-3}}}} today). His wife received a life estate and an annuity of $33,044. His son received $2,280,410 and the rest was distributed to various organizations.<ref>''Matawan Journal'', Page 7, col 1, July 21, 1910</ref>

==Legacy== ===Publishing=== His son, Robert Joseph Collier, took over as publisher of ''Collier's''. When Norman Hapgood joined ''Harper's Weekly'' in 1912, Robert Collier became the new editor. Circulation continued to grow, and by 1917, circulation reached one million. Robert Collier (1885–1950), his nephew, founded Robert Collier Publications.In 1952 the company published ''Collier's Encyclopedia''.<ref name=pfc>{{cite web |title=Peter Feleon Collier |url=http://www.myshalldrumphea.com/peter-fenelon-collier.htm |publisher=Myshall publishing |accessdate=December 18, 2025}}</ref>

===Collier Prize=== The '''Collier Prize for State Government Accountability''' was created in 2019, established to honor Peter Fenelon Collier's vision and to encourage investigative and political reporting at the state level.<ref name="zz1">{{cite news |author=|date=15 June 2020 |title=$25,000 Collier Prize awarded to The Oregonian for campaign contributions investigation |url=https://www.newspapers.org/stories/collier-prize,4156530? |work=newspapers.org |access-date=15 September 2020}}</ref><ref name="zz2">{{cite web |url=https://www.jou.ufl.edu/2019/04/25/university-of-florida-announces-25000-collier-prize-for-state-government-accountability/ |title=University of Florida Announces $25,000 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability |author= |date=25 April 2019 |website=University of Florida |access-date=10 September 2020 }}</ref> Founded by Nathan S. Collier, founder of the Collier Companies, and a descendant of Robert Collier,<ref name="zz4">{{cite news |author= |date=10 June 2020 |title=The Oregonian/OregonLive's 'Polluted by Money' wins inaugural Collier Prize |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2020/06/the-oregonianoregonlives-polluted-by-money-wins-inaugural-collier-prize.html |work=OregonLive.com|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref><ref name="zz6">{{cite AV media |people=Olivier Knox |date=29 April 2019 |title=2019 White House Correspondents' Dinner: Collier Prize for State Government Accountability |language=en |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4794657/user-clip-collier-prize-state-government-accountability |access-date=21 September 2020 |format=video |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref> and administered jointly by the White House Correspondents' Association and the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications,<ref name="zz3">{{cite news |last= Madarang|first= Mel|date=18 February 2020 |title=White House Correspondents' Dinner welcomes back comedic relief in 2020 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-correspondents-dinner-welcomes-back-comedic-relief/story?id=69046919 |work=ABC news |access-date=18 September 2020}}</ref> the journalism prize was first awarded in 2020.

The inaugural prize was awarded to ''The Oregonian'' for ''Polluted by Money'', a four-part series investigating campaign contributions.<ref name="zz2"/><ref name="zz4"/> Honorable mentions were awarded for ''Copy, Paste, Legislate'', published by the Center for Public Integrity and ''USA Today'' and "Beaten, then silenced", published in ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.<ref name="zz2"/><ref name="zz5">{{cite web |url= https://publicintegrity.org/inside-publici/center-for-public-integrity-wins-two-dateline-awards/ |title=Center For Public Integrity Wins Two Dateline Awards|author= |date= 9 Jun 2020|website=Center for Public Integrity|access-date=19 September 2020 }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|28em}}

{{s-start}} {{succession box

| before=N/A | title=Editor of Collier's Weekly | years=1888-1903 | after=Norman Hapgood}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Peter Fenelon}} Category:1849 births Category:1909 deaths Category:19th-century American publishers (people) Category:American magazine founders Category:Collier's Category:Collier (publishing company) Category:Irish emigrants to the United States Category:19th-century Irish publishers (people) Category:Businesspeople from County Carlow Category:Businesspeople from Dayton, Ohio