Music · 1944–2023
Katherine AndersonsingerInkster-raised co-founder of the Marvelettes who sang with the group through its Motown run and later mentored young Detroit singers.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
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
70 people · 2/2 page
Clear filtersMusic · 1944–2023Katherine AndersonsingerInkster-raised co-founder of the Marvelettes who sang with the group through its Motown run and later mentored young Detroit singers.
Music · born 1934Jack Ashfordpercussionist, vibraphonist, producerFunk Brothers percussionist whose tambourine is on hundreds of Motown records, from "Nowhere to Run" to "War"; the last surviving Funk Brother.
Religion · born 1964
Hassan al-Qazwiniimam, religious scholarKarbala-born Shia imam who led Dearborn's Islamic Center of America for eighteen years and became one of Metro Detroit's best-known Muslim voices after 9/11.Vanessa Bell Armstronggospel and R&B singerDetroit gospel singer whose debut Peace Be Still (1983), produced by Thomas Whitfield, launched a career of seven Grammy nominations.
Civil rights & activism · 1858–1929Clara Arthursuffragist, playground and public health reformerDetroit suffragist who led the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association and, as the Mother of the Playground Movement, built the city's playground system.
Music · born 1977DJ AssaultDJ, electronic producerDetroit DJ and producer whose raunchy, high-speed “booty” tracks of the 1990s made him the best-known name of the ghettotech sound.
Sports · 1931–1994Hank Aguirrebaseball pitcher, businessmanTigers left-hander who led the league in ERA in 1962 and later founded Mexican Industries, a Detroit auto-parts company that employed hundreds of Hispanic Detroiters.
Politics · 1889–1962Eugene Van Antwerpcivil engineer, city councilman, mayor of DetroitRailroad civil engineer and World War I veteran who sat on the City Council for nearly three decades and was mayor in 1948–1950.
Music · 1943–2026Rosalind AshfordsingerDetroit-born soprano and original member of Martha and the Vandellas, heard on "Heat Wave", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run".Aaron-Carlsinger, producer, DJ, label ownerDetroit singer-producer who moved between soulful house, techno and electro-funk, founded Wallshaker Music and scored a Billboard dance hit with “My House”.
Music · born 1947Drew AbbottguitaristDetroit-born lead guitarist of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band during its peak years, heard on Live Bullet, Night Moves and Against the Wind.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".Cholly Atkinsdancer, choreographerTap dancer turned Motown house choreographer who created the stage moves of the Temptations, Supremes and Four Tops.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.Charles Gilchrist AdamsBaptist pastor and preacherDetroit-born preacher who led Hartford Memorial Baptist Church for 50 years (1969–2019) and later taught at Harvard Divinity School.Barney Alesrecord executiveDetroit-born son of a Sicilian barber who, as Motown's sales and promotion chief, got its records onto pop radio; later Motown's president.Rance Allengospel singer, songwriter, bishopMonroe, Michigan-born gospel singer with a huge vocal range, who founded the Rance Allen Group in Detroit in 1969 and was signed by Stax after a Detroit talent contest.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.
