Peter Fenelon Collier (December 12, 1849 – April 23, 1909) was an Irish-American publisher, the founder of the publishing company ''P. F. Collier & Son'', and in 1888 founded ''
Collier's Weekly
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...
''.
Biography
He was born in
Myshall
Myshall () is a small village 22 km southeast of Carlow town, on the slopes of Mount Leinster, in County Carlow, Ireland. It is situated on the R724 regional road.
Adelaide Memorial Church
The Church of Ireland Adelaide Memorial Chur ...
,
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, on December 12, 1849, to Robert Collier and Catherine Fenelon. He emigrated to
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, in 1866 when he was seventeen years old. He attended
St. Mary's Seminary in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
for four years. He then worked for Sadler and Company, a publisher of schoolbooks. 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
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
and later published ''
Chandler's Encyclopedia'' and ''
Chamber's Encyclopedia
''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh and became one of the most ...
''. He then began publishing "
Collier's Library", a series of popular novels.
He later formed his own
publishing company
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
printing books for the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
market. He founded ''Collier's Once a Week'' in April 1888. It was advertised as a
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
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''.
Collier died on April 23, 1909. His will left most of his estate to his wife and son. His estate included shares in the
Rumson Polo Club
Rumson is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 7,343, reflecting a 3.1% increase from the 7,122 enumera ...
, Monmouth Agricultural Fair Association, co-ownership of ''
Colliers Weekly'', 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 $ 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.
[Matawan Journal, Page 7, col 1 - July 21, 1910]
Legacy
Publishing
His son,
Robert Joseph Collier, took over as publisher of ''Collier's Weekly''. When Norman Hapgood joined ''
Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' 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.
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
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
level.
Sponsored by
Nathan S. Collier (''The Collier Companies'' Founder and a descendant of Robert Collier)
and administered jointly by the
White House Correspondents’ Association
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
and the
University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications
The College of Journalism and Communications is an academic college of the University of Florida. The centerpiece of the journalism programs at UF is WUFT, which consists of both a WUFT (TV) Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television a ...
,
the
journalism prize was first awarded in 2020. The inaugural prize was awarded to
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
for ''Polluted by Money'', a four part series investigating
campaign contributions
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, Political party, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, a ...
.
Honorable mentions were awarded for
''Copy, Paste, Legislate'' (
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to c ...
and
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
) and ''Beaten, then silenced'' (
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Peter Fenelon
American publishers (people)
1849 births
1909 deaths
Collier's
American magazine founders
Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
People from County Carlow
19th-century American businesspeople
Collier (publishing company)