Politics · 1858–1912
William Richertgrocer, council president, acting mayor of DetroitGerman-born grocer and liquor wholesaler who, as council president, served two weeks as acting mayor in 1897 after Hazen Pingree became governor.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
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
434 people · 7/10 page
Clear filtersPolitics · 1858–1912William Richertgrocer, council president, acting mayor of DetroitGerman-born grocer and liquor wholesaler who, as council president, served two weeks as acting mayor in 1897 after Hazen Pingree became governor.Charles E. SorensenFord production chief, pattern maker and manufacturing pioneerDanish-born 'Cast-Iron Charlie', Henry Ford's production boss for four decades, who helped create the moving assembly line and ran Willow Run.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.
Notorious figures · 1897–1972William Toccofounding member of the Detroit PartnershipSicilian-born bootlegger known as Black Bill who co-founded the Detroit Mafia with his brother-in-law Joseph Zerilli and lived for decades in Grosse Pointe Park.Baby Boy Warrenblues singer, guitaristMemphis-raised guitarist and singer who worked at General Motors and became a leading figure of the 1950s Detroit blues scene.Robert WhiteguitaristFunk Brothers guitarist who wrote and played the famous opening riff of the Temptations' "My Girl".Philippé WynnesingerCincinnati-born lead voice of the Spinners' 1970s hits "How Could I Let You Get Away" and "The Rubberband Man", who began singing gospel in Detroit.Ismael Ahmedcommunity organizer, labor activist, state officialCo-founder and longtime executive director of ACCESS in Dearborn, the largest Arab American human services organization in the United States, and later Michigan's human services director.Richard "Pistol" AllendrummerFunk Brothers drummer behind most Holland–Dozier–Holland hits, from "Heat Wave" and "Baby Love" to "Reach Out I'll Be There".Benny BenjamindrummerMotown's first studio drummer and the rhythmic engine of the Funk Brothers, heard on "Shop Around", "My Girl" and "I Can't Help Myself".James Boggsautoworker, activist, authorAlabama-born Chrysler worker and radical thinker who, with his wife Grace Lee Boggs, spent five decades organizing for change on Detroit's east side.
Politics · 1773–1813Elijah Brushlawyer, mayor of Detroit, territorial treasurerEarly Detroit lawyer and second mayor (1806) whose ribbon farm beside the town became Brush Park; Brush Street carries his family name.Mattie Moss Clarkgospel choir director, composer, arrangerDetroit choir director who introduced three-part harmony to gospel choirs, led the Church of God in Christ's music for decades, and launched the Clark Sisters.
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.
Business & brands · 1833–1907Dexter M. Ferryseed merchant, founder of D. M. Ferry & Co.Detroit merchant whose D. M. Ferry & Co. became the world's largest seed company, selling fresh seed in small paper packets across America.Charles T. Fisherco-founder of Fisher Body, industrialist and bankerWith his older brother Fred he founded Fisher Body in Detroit in 1908; the seven Fisher brothers built the car bodies of GM and the Fisher Building.
Religion · 1870–1948Leo M. FranklinReform rabbi of Temple Beth ElRabbi of Temple Beth El from 1899 to 1941 who built Detroit's leading Reform congregation and two Albert Kahn temples on Woodward Avenue.Calvin Frazierblues guitarist, singer, songwriterArkansas-born guitarist, a companion of Robert Johnson and Johnny Shines, whose 1938 Library of Congress recordings are early documents of Detroit blues.
Visual art · 1908–1998Marshall FrederickssculptorSculptor of The Spirit of Detroit, the city's best-loved statue, who lived and worked in the Birmingham area for more than sixty years.
Press & broadcasting · 1819–1888John H. Harmonprinter, newspaper publisher, mayor of DetroitPrinter who came to Detroit with the 1838 Patriot raiders, rose to own the Detroit Free Press and served as Democratic mayor in 1852–1853.
Business & brands · 1804–1870Oliver Moulton Hydemanufacturer, mayor of DetroitHardware dealer turned maker of scales and steamboat engines who was elected Detroit's mayor three times (1854, 1856 and 1857).Bobo Jenkinsblues guitarist, singer, songwriter, label ownerAlabama-born bluesman who worked 27 years at Chrysler, recorded "Democrat Blues" for Chess, ran his own Detroit label and launched the first Detroit Blues Festival.Louis KamperarchitectGerman-born architect who remade Washington Boulevard for the Book brothers, designing the Book Tower, the Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Broderick Tower.
Politics · 1786–1859Jonathan Kearsleyarmy officer, federal land official, mayor of DetroitWar of 1812 veteran who lost a leg at Chippawa, came to Detroit in 1819 as the federal receiver of public money and was twice mayor (1826 and 1829).
Sports · born 1955Hilmer Kentyboxer, WBA lightweight championThe Kronk Gym's first world champion, who won the WBA lightweight title at Joe Louis Arena in 1980, Detroit's first world champion since Joe Louis.
Politics · 1812–1880Henry Ledyarddiplomat, businessman, mayor of DetroitLewis Cass's son-in-law and diplomatic aide who managed Cass's Detroit property, promoted Elmwood Cemetery and Michigan's first plank road, and was mayor in 1855.Hughie Lee-Smithpainter, teacherAfrican American painter of haunting, surreal cityscapes who built his career in Detroit in the 1940s and 1950s and won top prizes at the DIA.
Politics · 1780–1854Andrew Macksea captain, customs collector, newspaper owner, mayor of DetroitGlobe-circling sailor and Ohio businessman who became Detroit's customs collector, co-owned the early Free Press and was elected mayor in a special election in 1834.
Politics · 1925–2006Maryann Mahaffeysocial work professor, city council presidentWayne State social work professor and democratic socialist who served on the Detroit City Council for 32 years (1974–2005), twice as its president, championing women's rights and the poor.Johnnie Mae Matthewssinger, songwriter, producer, label owner"Godmother of Detroit Soul", the first African American woman to own and run a record label, whose Northern Recording Company launched the Distants and Bettye LaVette.The Electrifying Mojoradio DJ and broadcasterGenre-blind Detroit radio DJ whose late-night shows mixed Prince, Parliament and Kraftwerk and inspired the young inventors of Detroit techno.
Sports · 1871–1935Frank Navinpresident and owner of the Detroit TigersInsurance bookkeeper who became the Tigers' president for 27 years, signed Ty Cobb and built Navin Field at Michigan and Trumbull.
Press & broadcasting · 1916–1974Van PatricksportscasterPlay-by-play voice of the Detroit Lions and Tigers in the 1950s and 1960s and a fixture of Detroit sports television.
Science & invention · 1797–1872Zina Pitcherphysician, botanist, mayor of DetroitArmy surgeon and botanist who settled in Detroit, served twice as mayor (1840–1841 and 1843), helped build the University of Michigan and presided over the American Medical Association.William Pottspolice officer, inventorDetroit police officer credited with inventing the modern three-color traffic light, first installed on Woodward Avenue in 1920.
Science & invention · 1928–2022
Ananda Prasadphysician, medical researcherIndian-born physician at Wayne State University in Detroit who proved that zinc is essential to human health.
Law · 1858–1933Horace Rackhamlawyer, original Ford Motor Company shareholder, philanthropistDetroit lawyer who drew up Ford Motor Company's incorporation papers, bought 50 shares against his banker's advice, and gave his fortune to the zoo, a golf course and education.
Ruth Adler Schneetextile and interior designerGerman-born textile designer who fled the Nazis as a girl, studied at Cass Tech and Cranbrook, and brought post-war modernism to Detroit homes and offices.Harmonica Shahblues harmonica player, singerOakland-born harmonica player who moved to Detroit in 1967, worked at Ford and drove a cab, and became a leading voice of later Detroit blues.Leni Sinclairphotographer, activistGerman-born photographer who documented Detroit's jazz and rock underground from the 1960s, co-founded the Detroit Artists Workshop and the White Panther Party, and still lives in Detroit.Turkey Stearnesbaseball player, center fielderHall of Fame slugger of the Negro-league Detroit Stars who made Detroit his home for more than fifty years; Hamtramck Stadium's field bears his name.
Politics · 1842–1904William G. Thompsonlawyer, Union officer, mayor of Detroit, baseball club founderCivil War veteran and lawyer who was mayor of Detroit from 1880 to 1883 and founded the Detroit Wolverines, the city's first major-league baseball team, in 1881.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.Jimmy Workcountry singer, songwriterHonky-tonk songwriter of “Making Believe” who launched his professional career in Pontiac, where Southern migrants working in the auto plants formed a ready audience.Charles H. Wrightobstetrician-gynecologist, museum founderDetroit obstetrician who founded the museum of African American history that now bears his name, one of the largest of its kind in the world.Wolf W. Zuelzerpediatric pathologist, hematologistGerman-born pediatric pathologist who led research at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit for 35 years and helped show that childhood leukemia could be cured.Harriette Arnownovelist, historianKentucky-born novelist whose The Dollmaker, drawn from her years in wartime Detroit public housing, is the classic novel of the Appalachian migration to the Motor City.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.
