Biography
Born in Pennsylvania in 1877, Hiram Winnett Orr moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, after his high school graduation. He completed his premedical education at the University of Nebraska while he lived with his uncle, Hudson J. Winnett, MD. Orr helped his uncle in general practice, even accompanying him on house calls. Orr earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1899 and returned to his uncle’s practice in Lincoln. In 1904, Dr. Orr traveled to Chicago to engage in specialized training in pediatrics. There he was introduced to John Ridlon, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Orr was so impressed with Ridlon that he changed his specialty to orthopedic surgery and established a thriving career in his chosen field.
Dr. Orr served as an assistant professor in the History of Medicine at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine (1910–1916) while also practicing medicine and orthopedic surgery in Lincoln (1899 to 1956). He was instrumental in establishing the Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital in 1905. During WWI, Dr. Orr was stationed with the Army Medical Department in England and France, where he devised the “Orr Method” for treating bone and wound infections and compound fractures. He also developed techniques using skeletal pins, plaster of Paris, and other immobilizing devices to promote wound healing.
