George E. Ohr

George Edgar Ohr (July 12, 1857 – April 7, 1918) was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi" in Mississippi. In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms from 1880–1910, some consider him a precursor to the American Abstract-Expressionism movement.

Personal life

George Ohr was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, on July 12, 1857. He was the son of German immigrants who arrived in New Orleans c. 1850 and subsequently married and moved to Biloxi. George Ohr tried his hand at various trades before he became interested in ceramics in 1879, while an apprentice of Joseph Fortune Meyer. Ohr married Josephine Gehring of New Orleans on September 15, 1886. Ten children were born to the Ohrs, but unfortunately only 5 survived to adulthood. George Ohr died of throat cancer on April 7, 1918.

Ohr studied the potter's trade with Joseph Meyer in New Orleans, a potter whose family hailed from Alsace-Lorraine, as did Ohr's. Ohr's father had established the first blacksmith shop in Biloxi and his mother ran an early, popular grocery store there. In his lifetime, Ohr created well over 10,000 known pots. He called his work "unequaled, undisputed, unrivaled." In 1884, Ohr exhibited and sold his pottery at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans. Of the hundreds of pieces he showed, Ohr boasted "no two alike."

George Orr (cricketer)

George Orr (26 July 1896 – 2 October 1972) was an Australian-born New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Wellington in the 1920s.

Born in St Leonards, New South Wales on 20 July 1896, Orr played junior cricket in Australia before enlisting in the Australian 9th Flying Corps Engineers in 1916.

Following the war, he worked for Sydney solicitors Minter Simpson & Co. until 1922 when he accepted a role with the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Distributing Company in Wanganui, New Zealand. An opening batsman, Orr quickly gained local attention for his cricketing skill, being lauded for his "solid defence and an exquisite square cut", and after some high scores was selected for Wanganui for the Hawke Cup match against Rangitikei on 15 November 1922, making 72. He was soon selected in a Minor Associations side to play the touring MCC side, scoring one and eleven.

Despite the poor returns against the MCC, Orr was chosen for the Minor Associations side in a match against Wellington which served as a trial for Wellington's upcoming Plunket Shield match against Auckland. He made 27 and 44; enough to be included in the Wellington team for his first-class debut.