Auto industry · 1881–1955
József Galambmechanical engineer, chief designer of the Ford Model THungarian engineer from Makó who became Ford's chief designer and drew up much of the Model T at the Piquette Avenue Plant.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Hungarian Detroit
Detroiters born in Hungary or of Hungarian descent, and people with strong ties to Hungarian culture: Harry Houdini, conductor Antal Doráti, Ford Model T engineer József Galamb, and the priests, athletes and politicians of Delray's Hungarian neighborhood.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 9 fields
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
17 people
Clear filtersAuto industry · 1881–1955József Galambmechanical engineer, chief designer of the Ford Model THungarian engineer from Makó who became Ford's chief designer and drew up much of the Model T at the Piquette Avenue Plant.
Abraham Nemethmathematician, inventor of Nemeth BrailleBlind mathematician from a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant family who taught at the University of Detroit for three decades and created the Nemeth Braille Code for mathematics.
Auto industry · 1928–2024Ferenc Pavlicsmechanical engineer, developer of the Apollo Lunar Roving VehicleA 1956 refugee who began his American career in GM's off-road vehicle lab in Detroit and went on to develop the wheels and drive of the Apollo moon buggy.
Politics · 1890–1963Rudolph G. Tenerowiczphysician, politicianBudapest-born Polish-American physician who served as mayor of Hamtramck and as a US congressman from Detroit, a career marked by a bribery conviction and his role in the 1942 Sojourner Truth Homes conflict.
Music · 1888–1957Victor Kolarconductor, composer, violinistBudapest-born conductor who spent two decades on the podium of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, rising from assistant to principal conductor, and died in Detroit.
Visual art · 1926–2013Balthazar Korabarchitectural photographer, architectHungarian-born architect-photographer who joined Eero Saarinen's Michigan office in 1955 and became one of America's leading architectural photographers from his Detroit-area base.Eugene Farkasautomotive engineer, Model T and Fordson tractor designerHungarian-born Ford engineer who helped tool up the Model T and was chief engineer of the Fordson tractor.Ferenc VargasculptorHungarian sculptor who fled after World War II, settled in Detroit in the 1950s and made public monuments for the city's Polish and Catholic communities, including a Pulaski monument.Csaba Csereautomotive engineer and journalist, Car and Driver editor-in-chiefHungarian-American MIT engineer who left Ford's advanced engine office for Car and Driver in Ann Arbor and ran the magazine as editor-in-chief from 1993 to 2008.
Religion · 1877–1927Lajos KovácsCatholic priest, editorHungarian Catholic priest who led Delray's Holy Cross Hungarian parish in the 1920s and drove the building of its landmark neo-Gothic church, dedicated in 1925.Imre Molnardesign educator, dean and provost of the College for Creative StudiesHungarian-born, Australian-raised designer who as dean and provost of Detroit's College for Creative Studies pushed its car-design school into the world's front rank.Bert Rubyprofessional wrestler, trainer, promoterHungarian-Jewish wrestler from Transylvania who became a fixture of Detroit professional wrestling as a barefoot grappler, trainer and the right-hand man of promoter Harry Light.Zoltan Sepeshypainter, art educatorHungarian-born painter who settled in Detroit in 1921 and later led the Cranbrook Academy of Art for about two decades.Charles Baloughautomotive engineer, Model T draftsman, founding president of Hercules MotorsHungarian engineer who helped put the Model T on paper in Ford's Piquette experimental room, then built Hercules Motors into a major American engine maker.Stephen I. Feketeautomotive engineer, Hudson chief engineerBudapest-trained engineer whose balanced-crankshaft patent sat at the heart of Hudson's 1916 Super Six; later Hudson's chief engineer in Detroit.Zoltán Jánosivehicle engineer, terramechanics researcherHungarian refugee engineer whose soil-shear equation, worked out at the Army's Land Locomotion Laboratory by the Detroit Arsenal, still helps model off-road wheels and tracks.Aladar O. Simkoengine research engineer at FordHungarian engineer at Ford who directed development of PROCO, a direct-injection stratified-charge engine, and filed dozens of engine patents over 35 years.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 ↗
Save the plan. Share the moment.
