William Robertson Coe (June 8, 1869 – March 14, 1955) was aninsurance,railroad and business executive, a major owner and breeder ofThoroughbred racehorses, as well as a collector of Americana and an importantphilanthropist for the academic discipline ofAmerican Studies.

William Coe was born inKingswinford,Staffordshire, England. His father, Frederick Augustus Coe, was then cashier in a local iron works, but later became manager.^[1] His mother, Margaret Robertson, was a native ofEdinburgh, Scotland. Coe received his early schooling at Albion Academy inCardiff, Wales. At the start of the 1880s, his family resided in Gloucester, where Coe was confirmed at the local cathedral.

Members of the Coe family, including William, arrived in New York on August 18, 1883, from Hull, England, aboard theRhodora, a merchant ship owned by Margaret's elder brother George Robertson. Their final destination was Philadelphia.^[2] His parents and ten children, William was fifth of the ten, settled inCinnaminson, New Jersey, across theDelaware River fromPhiladelphia.^[3]

At the age of 15, William began working as an office boy for a Philadelphiainsurance broker. The brokerage was acquired byJohnson and Higgins Insurance Co., and Coe rose to become a manager of the adjusting (claims) department in the New York City office of the maritime insurer. As a young widower following the death of his first wife, during a cruise to England in 1900, he metMai Rogers, the youngest daughter of industrialistHenry Huttleston Rogers, a key man inStandard Oil.

This marriage brought connections with Standard Oil that expanded Johnson and Higgins' business immensely, while it opened personal business opportunities for Coe. By 1910, Coe had become president of Johnson and Higgins and was involved in insuring the "unsinkable" hull of theRMSTitanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. Notwithstanding his involvement with theTitanic disaster, Coe rose to chairman of the board of Johnson and Higgins by 1916.

Coe was on the board of directors of theVirginian Railway from 1910 until his death in 1955, and headed the company for a brief period duringWorld War II. He was also a director ofLoup Creek Colliery and theWyoming Land Company. One of his sons,William Rogers Coe, led the financial management of theVirginian Railway for many years as vice-president and treasurer, with offices in New York City.

Coe's first marriage was to Jane Hutchinson Falligant in 1893, the daughter of Judge Robert Falligant of Savannah, Georgia. She died approximately five years later without having children.^[1]

On June 4, 1900, Coe marriedMai Rogers, the youngest daughter of industrialistHenry Huttleston Rogers andAbbie Gifford Rogers. The Coes had four children:William Rogers Coe (1901–1971),Robert Douglas Coe (1902–1985), Henry Huttleston Rogers Coe (1907–1966), andNatalie Mai Coe (1910–1987).

In December 1926, after the death of Mai Rogers Coe, Coe married Caroline Graham Slaughter.^[4] She was the former wife of E. Dick Slaughter, a daughter of Alexander Hutchinson Graham and Cornelia Ligon Graham, and a granddaughter of Alabama lieutenant-governorRobert Fulwood Ligon.

Coe liked horses and was athoroughbredhorse racing enthusiast. He built a riding stable on his "Planting Fields" estate and put together a racing stable based at theSaratoga Race Course inSaratoga Springs, New York. Coe'sfillyBlack Maria won theKentucky Oaks in 1926, theMetropolitan Handicap in 1927, and the first running of theWhitney Handicap in 1928. Black Maria was voted theU.S. Champion Older Female Horse for 1927 and 1928. Among his stables' other notable horses wereCleopatra, the 1920U.S. Champion 3-year-old Filly, andLadysman, which won the 1932Hopeful Stakes and was theAmerican Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.

Six of Coe's horses competed in theKentucky Derby. His best finish came in 1937, whenPompoon finished second toWar Admiral. Coe established Shoshone Stud, and in 1923, he paid $110,000 forThe Finn, a then record price for asire. The Finn died two years later. Coe's coltPompey won the 1926Wood Memorial Stakes and was a successful sire; appears four generations back in the pedigree ofSecretariat.^[5]

Coe was a fan of theAmerican West; in 1910, he purchased ColonelWilliam F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody's 492-acre (1.99 km²) hunting camp, Irma Lake Lodge, in Cody, Wyoming.^[1][6] For 45 years, he collectedAmericana memorabilia, gathering original diaries, manuscripts, letters and photographs depicting the struggles of the pioneer settlers. In 1948, the William Robertson Coe Collection was presented toYale University.^[1]

Coe's interest inAmericana andanti-Communist politics led him to establish programs inAmerican Studies at forty colleges and universities, with continuing funding through the Coe Foundation. He endowed professorships atYale,Stanford, and theUniversity of Wyoming. Coe saw his support of American Studies as a way to counter the ideological threats of communism during theCold War.

"I  hereby  further  request  that  the  Professor  to head  the  Program  of  American  studies  shall  always  be  one  who  firmly  believes  in  the  preservation  of  our  System  of  Free  Enterprise  and  is  opposed to the system of State Socialism, Communism and Totalitarianism, and that the portion  of the income  of the fund  which is set aside for the Program of American studies shall be used for the furtherance  of the System above referred to." William Robertson Coe on his donation to Yale in 1950[7]

Coe's ownership of a ranch nearCody, Wyoming, led him to direct much of his giving to this Rocky Mountain state.

At the University of Wyoming, the William Robertson Coe Library, History building, and program in American Studies represent a substantial contribution of private funds to public higher education. The building was completed in 1958 and dedicated to the promotion of American ideals and free enterprise according to his wishes. A bust of William R. Coe occupies the foyer of the history building at the University of Wyoming.

In 2010, the University of Wyoming reopened the William Robertson Coe Library after two years of renovations. Several of Coe's descendants attended the reopening.

Donations from William R. Coe also helped build the Coe Medical Center, now West Park Hospital, in Cody, Wyoming.^[8] The Remington Studio Collection (Frederic Remington), as well as other works of art, were purchased by the Coe Foundation and are on display at the Whitney Gallery of Art in Cody, Wyoming. The town of Cody also received many benefactions from him, including its first paved streets, and the 4-faced grand clock on the Park County courthouse building placed there in 1912 and still in use.^[1]

Planting Fields, the Coes'estate inUpper Brookville, New York, was built around 1911 on the famousGold Coast of Long Island. Coe Hall, the manor house, was designed by the firm ofWalker and Gillette and built between 1918 and 1921.^[1]

The Coes' interest in rare species of trees and plant collections made the estate a botanical marvel.^[1] The 409-acre (1.66 km²) estate was deeded to theState of New York in 1949. Today, owned and operated by The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in cooperation with the Planting Fields foundation, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park is a popular attraction. The historic gates, built in 1712 inSussex, England (which Coe had imported), have been used as a setting for numerous films.^[1]

When Coe died unexpectedly of anasthma attack at his new home inPalm Beach, Florida on March 14, 1955, he was buried atLocust Valley Cemetery on Long Island.

Two years after his death, in 1957, theVirginian Railway named its newtugboatW. R. Coe in his memory. After the VGN merger with theNorfolk and Western in 1959, it was renamedR.B. Claytor (for the N&W leader,Robert B. Claytor). As of 2003, the tugboat was serving the harbor ofBoston as theKaren B. Tibbetts.

• University of Wyoming
• Planting Fields website, William Robertson Coe page
• The Edward Eberstadt & Sons Records at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, document the formation of the Coe Collection of Western Americana.

• 1869 births
• 1955 deaths
• American businesspeople in insurance
• 20th-century American railroad executives
• American racehorse owners and breeders
• English emigrants to the United States
• People from Kingswinford
• Businesspeople from Palm Beach, Florida
• People from Cody, Wyoming

• Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses
• Pages using infobox person with multiple parents
• Articles with hCards