Background
He was the son of Judge John Collier and Henrietta E. Wilson. His wife, Suzie (died 1897) was the daughter of William A. Rawson. Collier was born in 1848 in a Georgia village that would later be known as Gate City.
He was the son of Judge John Collier and Henrietta E. Wilson. His wife, Suzie (died 1897) was the daughter of William A. Rawson. Collier was born in 1848 in a Georgia village that would later be known as Gate City.
Collier graduated from the University of Georgia in 1869 with a degree in law and was admitted to the bar in 1871.
At the age of 18, he entered into the University of Georgia to study law. While there, he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Shortly after, he left the law profession and went into mercantile pursuits and banking.
He was elected to the Board of Aldermen of Atlanta in 1887 and 1888, similar to the Atlanta City Council today.
In 1887, he was also the President of the which bought 189 acres (076 km2) of land to form Piedmont Park and the Gentleman"s Driving Club. In just 104 days, Collier and the rest of the Company managed to build the structures and prepare the grounds for the Exposition held at the newly named Piedmont Park.
President Grover Cleveland honored Atlanta with a visit to the Exposition with his new bride, Frances Folsom. Afterwards, Collier was named President of the Cotton States and International Exposition Company charged with planning the 1895 World"s Fair which at the time was known as the Cotton States and International Exposition.
Serious preparations for the Exposition began in 1894.
On October 16, 1894, Collier and John Randolph Lewis wrote to Booker T. Washington making him the Chief Commissioner of the State of Alabama for the Exposition and charging him with creating an exhibit show casing the talents of African-Americans in Alabama. During the Exposition, Collier named several days of honor. One of these days included Sigma Alpha Epsilon day, where he addressed fellow Society of Automotive Engineers fraternity brothers in the auditorium.
Collier was elected as of Atlanta for the first time from 1897 to 1898.
In 1899, Collier was elected again, pro tem. Just a year after leaving office he was accidentally shot and killed while searching for a burglar in his backyard in the early morning of September 28, 1900.
From 1892 to 1896 he was a member of the Fulton County Commission and with Hoke Smith provided funding for the Seaboard Air Lincolnshire Railroad"s construction through Georgia.