[1] He attended St. Francis College, then transferred to Georgetown University and graduated in 1894, winning the Merrick Medal from the Philodemic Society that same year.

purchased a Wright Model B aircraft in 1911 and loaned it to the United States Army, which assigned it to Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois.

They used this aircraft to fly along the Rio Grande border of Mexico and the United States in one of the first scouting duties by the U.S. Army using an airplane.

[7] In 1901, in Wickatunk, New Jersey Collier constructed his country estate for himself and his wife, Sara Steward Van Alen.

The estate had grass tennis courts, Croquet course, extensive horse stables and fox hunting hounds.

[10] Spanning many farms and properties, the area was widely used for an annual fox hunt of the "Monmouth County Hounds" which started in East Freehold and ended at the Collier Estate.

[11][12][13] Collier was known to fly his plane to Freehold, dismount his bi-plane mount a polo pony and lead the fox hunt.

However, shortly before his return to New York, General Pershing had personally cancelled his press credentials and ordered him home.

[21] His funeral was held in the Church of St. Jean Baptiste on Lexington Ave. Orville Wright, Condé Montrose Nast, Francis P Garvan, Finley Peter Dunne and Joseph Kennedy were some of his pallbearers.

[24] As detailed in the fourth episode of the first season of the TV series Who Do You Think You Are?, they had a son, Robert Jr., who was born prematurely and only lived for two days, April 22–24, 1903.

[25] This little-known fact goes some small way in explaining his frittering away of his fortune, and his wife's decision to leave their country estate to nuns who would take care of children.

In his will he made three friends—Peter Finley Dunne, Harry Payne Whitney, and Francis Patrick Garvan—the residuary legatees of his estate and, thus, his publishing company.

[1] In 1922, when the Aero Club dissolved, the award was taken over by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and it was unofficially renamed the Robert J. Collier Trophy, which became official in 1944.