Visual art · 1907–1954
Frida KahlopainterMexican painter who spent 1932–33 in Detroit with Diego Rivera and made breakthrough works there, including Henry Ford Hospital.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 18 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
68 people · 1/2 page
Clear filtersVisual art · 1907–1954Frida KahlopainterMexican painter who spent 1932–33 in Detroit with Diego Rivera and made breakthrough works there, including Henry Ford Hospital.
Music · 1903–1931
Bix Beiderbeckejazz cornetist, pianist, composerLegendary 1920s cornetist who played in Jean Goldkette's Detroit-based orchestra, headlining at the Graystone Ballroom in 1926–1927 before his greatest recordings.
Science & invention · 1904–2007
Rudolf Arnheimart and film theorist, psychologistGerman-born theorist of art and visual perception, author of Art and Visual Perception, who spent his last three decades in Ann Arbor and taught at the University of Michigan.
Visual art · 1904–1988
Isamu Noguchisculptor, landscape architect, designerJapanese-American sculptor who shaped Hart Plaza on Detroit's riverfront and created its Dodge Fountain and 120-foot Pylon.
Politics · 1907–1995George W. Romneyautomobile executive, governor of MichiganDetroit auto-industry spokesman and American Motors chief who became Michigan's governor (1963–1969) and later U.S. housing secretary.
Labor · 1907–1970Walter Reutherpresident of the United Auto Workers (1946–1970)Tool-and-die maker who became the UAW's longest-serving president, building one of America's most powerful and progressive unions from Detroit.
Music · 1906–1988
Antal Doráticonductor, composerBudapest-born conductor and pupil of Bartók and Kodály who led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1981 and put it back on the world's record shelves.
Architecture & design · 1907–1978Charles Eamesdesigner, architect, filmmakerAmerican designer who came to Cranbrook in 1938, began his furniture experiments there with Eero Saarinen and met his partner Ray Kaiser.Ed Gordonathletics competitor, later science teacher1932 Olympic long jump gold medalist who settled in Detroit later in life, earned a delayed college degree at Wayne State University, and taught science there until his death.
Science & invention · 1903–1981Rensis Likertsocial psychologistPsychologist behind the Likert scale and founder of the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor.
Sports · 1902–1995Margaret Woodbridgecompetition swimmerDetroit-born Olympic gold medalist who swam for the Detroit Athletic Club and was a member of the first-ever U.S. women's Olympic swim team in 1920.Clarence PinkstonOlympic diver and diving coachTwo-time Olympic diving gold medalist who spent nearly three decades as aquatics director and diving coach at the Detroit Athletic Club, training national and Olympic champions.
Auto industry · 1903–1956Preston Tuckerautomobile entrepreneur and designerLincoln Park–raised car dreamer behind the futuristic Tucker 48, whose story became the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream.John DeardenCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of DetroitArchbishop of Detroit for 21 years who brought the Second Vatican Council's reforms home and pressed the church to confront racial injustice.
Tiny Thompsonice hockey goaltender, scoutFour-time Vezina Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Famer who closed his 12-season NHL career with two seasons in Detroit after a decade starring for Boston.Alexander H. SmithmycologistLeading American mushroom expert who spent his entire career at the University of Michigan Herbarium and wrote popular guides to Michigan's mushrooms.Don Redmanarranger, composer, saxophonist, bandleaderPioneering swing arranger who left Fletcher Henderson in 1927 to lead McKinney's Cotton Pickers in Detroit, turning the Graystone house band into a national star.
Sports · 1908–1963Horton Smithprofessional golferWinner of the first Masters Tournament in 1934 and again in 1936, who was head professional at the Detroit Golf Club from 1946 until his death.
Music · 1909–1995Josef Gingoldviolinist, teacherViolinist and legendary teacher who was concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony in the mid-1940s, between Toscanini's NBC Symphony and George Szell's Cleveland Orchestra.
Business & brands · 1901–1996
Alex Manoogianindustrial engineer, businessman, philanthropistArmenian-born engineer who came to Detroit in 1924, founded Masco, introduced the Delta washerless faucet, and donated the Manoogian Mansion, the official home of Detroit's mayors.
Sports · 1903–1962Mickey Cochranebaseball catcher and managerHall of Fame catcher who, as player-manager, led the Tigers to pennants in 1934 and 1935 and Detroit's first World Series title.Virgil Exnerautomotive designer, creator of Chrysler's Forward LookAnn Arbor–born designer whose Forward Look gave Chrysler its soaring 1955–1963 tailfin cars and set off a styling race with GM.
Sports · 1903–1993Charlie Gehringerbaseball player, second basemanMichigan-born Hall of Fame second baseman who played his whole 19-year career with the Tigers; his No. 2 is retired and his statue stands at Comerica Park.
Zora Arkus-Duntovautomotive engineer, Corvette chief engineerBelgian-born, Russian-raised engineer who came to Detroit in 1953 and turned the Corvette into a genuine performance car.
Sports · 1907–1985Ebbie Goodfellowice hockey forward and defensemanRed Wings captain who won three Stanley Cups, became the first Red Wing to win the Hart Trophy and founded the Red Wings Alumni Association.
Sports · 1900–1971Goose Goslinbaseball player, left fielderHall of Fame left fielder whose ninth-inning single won the 1935 World Series, Detroit's first championship.Big Maceo Merriweatherblues pianist, singerGeorgia-born blues pianist who learned his trade in Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s, wrote "Worried Life Blues" and was buried in metro Detroit.
Sports · 1906–1978Dutch ClarkAmerican football quarterback and coachStar of the first Detroit Lions teams, who led them to the 1935 NFL championship; the Lions retired his No. 7 first of all their numbers.
Architecture & design · 1907–1993Alexander Girardarchitect, interior and textile designerModernist designer who worked from Detroit and Grosse Pointe for sixteen years before becoming Herman Miller's famed textile director.
Press & broadcasting · 1908–1997Bill Kennedyactor, television movie hostFormer Warner Bros. actor who for 27 years hosted old movies for Detroit viewers on CKLW-TV and WKBD, famous for his sardonic Hollywood stories.Larry Aurieice hockey right wingerSmall, tough right winger who played eleven seasons for Detroit's NHL club, won two Stanley Cups and had his No. 6 retired by owner James Norris in 1938.
Politics · 1903–1961George G. Sadowskilawyer, politicianDetroit-born son of a Polish-American family who went from the city's east-side schools to the Michigan Senate and three terms in Congress in the 1930s.Mary V. Becklawyer, politicianUkrainian-American lawyer of Lemko descent who in 1949 became the first woman elected to Detroit's city council and later served as its president and as acting mayor.
Sports · 1906–1968Tommy Bridgesbaseball pitcherCurveball pitcher who spent his entire career with the Tigers (1930–1946) and won two games in the 1935 World Series.
Law · 1909–1997George W. Crockett Jr.civil rights lawyer, judge, congressmanRadical civil rights lawyer who co-founded one of the first integrated law firms in Detroit, became a storied Recorder's Court judge after the 1969 New Bethel incident and then served in Congress (1980–1991).
Business & brands · 1908–2005Max Fisherbusinessman, philanthropist, presidential adviserOil businessman who came to Detroit in 1930, built Aurora Gasoline and Speedway, led the city's Jewish community and civic renewal efforts, and gave his name to the Detroit Symphony's music center.
Visual art · 1905–2000Todd WebbphotographerDetroit-born documentary photographer of New York, Paris and the American West, who learned his craft at the Detroit Camera Club while working for Chrysler.
Hryhory Kytastycomposer, conductor, banduristUkrainian émigré composer and conductor who brought the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus to Detroit in 1949, making the city the world center of the bandura tradition in exile.Baba RexhebSufi dervish leader (Bektashi baba)Albanian Bektashi Sufi master who founded the First Albanian Bektashi Tekke in America in Taylor, just outside Detroit, in 1954; his shrine there is visited by pilgrims.Fred Zollnerindustrialist, basketball team ownerPiston manufacturer who founded the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in 1941, helped create the NBA and moved the team to Detroit in 1957.Brace Beemerradio actor and announcerWXYZ announcer and the best-known radio voice of the Lone Ranger (1941–1954), who lived on a horse ranch in Oakland County and is buried in Troy.Ed Coleautomotive engineer, president of General MotorsGM engineer behind the Chevrolet small-block V8 and the Corvair who rose to president of General Motors from 1967 to 1974.
Politics · 1900–1950Edward Jeffrieslawyer, mayor of DetroitDetroit-born lawyer and son of a crusading judge who was mayor through World War II (1940–1948), including the deadly 1943 race riot; the Jeffries Freeway honors him.
Corrado Parducciarchitectural sculptorItalian-born architectural sculptor who came to Detroit in 1924 to work for Albert Kahn and decorated some 600 buildings, including the Guardian, Penobscot and Fisher buildings.Fran Strikerradio and comics writerBuffalo writer who scripted The Lone Ranger for Detroit's WXYZ and moved to Detroit to run the station's script department, co-creating The Green Hornet and Sergeant Preston.
Politics · 1902–1950Frank Couzensbuilding contractor, mayor of Detroit, bankerSon of Ford partner and mayor James Couzens who was himself Detroit's mayor in the depths of the Depression (1933–1938) and later founded the Wabeek Bank.
Labor · 1908–1981Frank FitzsimmonsTeamsters president (1971–1981)Detroit truck driver and Jimmy Hoffa loyalist from Local 299 who ran the Teamsters while Hoffa was in prison and then kept the presidency.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗
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