Ohr, George Edgar

Ohr, George Edgar

(1857–1918) potter; born in Biloxi, Miss. An eccentric original known as the "mad potter of Biloxi," he set up his own workshop in 1883 and when it burned in 1894, he replaced it with a landmark pagoda-like structure. Far ahead of his time with his twisted, ruffled pots with sinuous handles and with his fondness for visual puns, he stored away his major works in 1900. In 1972 this trove was rediscovered, leading to a new appreciation of his work.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.