Jeff Bassrecord producer, songwriter, musicianDetroit producer and half of the Bass Brothers, who helped launch Eminem and co-wrote the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself”.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
- 21 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
184 people · 3/4 page
Clear filtersJeff Bassrecord producer, songwriter, musicianDetroit producer and half of the Bass Brothers, who helped launch Eminem and co-wrote the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself”.Blake BaxterDJ, producer, record-store ownerDetroit-born first-wave techno producer, often called the scene's unsung hero, who bridged Chicago house and Detroit techno.
Music · 1936–2005Renaldo "Obie" Bensonbass singer, songwriterDetroit-born bass singer of the Four Tops who wrote the first draft of "What's Going On" and persuaded Marvin Gaye to record it.Warren Bensoncomposer, percussionist, teacherDetroit-born composer and Cass Tech graduate who played timpani in the Detroit Symphony as a teenager and wrote the wind-band classic The Leaves Are Falling.
Konstantin Brombergfilm directorSoviet director of the beloved children's film The Adventures of the Elektronic (1979), who spent his last years in metro Detroit and is buried in Livonia.
Law · 1836–1913Henry Billings Brownlawyer, federal judge, U.S. Supreme Court justiceDetroit admiralty lawyer and federal judge who rose to the U.S. Supreme Court (1891–1906) and wrote the notorious Plessy v. Ferguson 'separate but equal' opinion; he is buried at Elmwood.
Visual art · 1856–1942Amelia Van Burenphotographer, painterDetroit-born portrait photographer, a student of Thomas Eakins and the subject of his celebrated painting Miss Amelia Van Buren.Werner Emmanuel Bachmannorganic chemistDetroit-born chemist who achieved the first total synthesis of a steroid hormone and devised a wartime process for mass-producing the explosive RDX.
Business & brands · 1847–1906James Anthony Baileycircus owner and managerDetroit-born orphan who ran away to the circus from a Pontiac hotel and became the Bailey of Barnum & Bailey, 'The Greatest Show on Earth'.Rosalind Brewerbusiness executive, former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Sam's ClubDetroit-born, Cass Tech–educated chemist who became CEO of Sam's Club, COO of Starbucks and the first woman to lead Walgreens Boots Alliance.Elbridge "Al" BryantsingerOriginal tenor of the Temptations, who came from Otis Williams's Detroit group the Distants and was replaced by David Ruffin in 1964.
Theatre & dance · 1950–2025Howard Butennovelist, clown, psychologistDetroit-born writer and clown 'Buffo', whose novel When I Was Five I Killed Myself sold over a million copies in France, where he also worked with autistic children.Everett Barksdalejazz guitarist, session musicianDetroit-born guitarist of Art Tatum's trio and busy New York session player, heard on "Love Is Strange" and the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk".
Sports · born 1945Lem BarneyAmerican football cornerback and return specialistHall of Fame Lions cornerback of 1967–1977 who, with teammate Mel Farr, can be heard on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".Charles Baxternovelist, short-story writer, essayist, teacherNovelist of The Feast of Love who began his university teaching career at Wayne State in Detroit and set much of his Michigan-rooted fiction nearby.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.Daniel Bellminimal techno DJ and producerMinimal techno pioneer who moved to Detroit, recorded with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik and ran the Accelerate label and 7th City distribution.
Sports · 1854–1927Charlie Bennettbaseball catcherStar catcher of the 1880s Detroit Wolverines who lost both legs in a train accident; the Tigers' first ballpark, Bennett Park, was named for him.Ara Berberianoperatic bass, actorDetroit-born Armenian American bass who sang 334 performances at the Metropolitan Opera; a nature preserve in Southfield is named for him.Faruq Z. Beyjazz saxophonist, composer, poetDetroit saxophonist and composer who led Griot Galaxy, the city's leading avant-garde band of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Politics · 1792–1859John Biddlearmy officer, mayor of Detroit, territorial delegatePhiladelphia-born officer who commanded Fort Shelby, served as Detroit's mayor in 1827–1828 and founded the estate that became the city of Wyandotte.
Press & broadcasting · 1864–1949George Gough Boothnewspaper publisher, arts patronDetroit News publisher who, with his wife Ellen Scripps Booth, founded Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and championed the Arts and Crafts movement in Detroit.
Religion · 1826–1890Caspar Henry Borgesssecond Catholic Bishop of Detroit (1871–1887)German-born bishop who led the Diocese of Detroit from 1871 to 1887, invited the Jesuits to found the future University of Detroit and clashed with Polish parishioners.
Beth Brantwriter, poet, editorDetroit-born Mohawk writer who edited A Gathering of Spirit, the first anthology of Native American women's writing, and wrote Mohawk Trail.
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.E. M. Bronernovelist, playwright, feminist ritual writer, professorDetroit-born Jewish feminist author of A Weave of Women and The Women's Haggadah, who studied and taught for decades at Wayne State.
Music · 1885–1957Gene Bucklyricist, sheet music illustrator, producer, ASCAP presidentCorktown-raised illustrator and lyricist who wrote for the Ziegfeld Follies, discovered Will Rogers and Ed Wynn for Broadway and led ASCAP from 1925 to 1942.
Politics · 1832–1881John J. Bagleytobacco manufacturer, governor of MichiganTeenage tobacco-shop apprentice who built Detroit's Mayflower Tobacco Company and became a reforming governor (1873–1877); his rediscovered statue turned up in DIA storage in 2019.
Music · 1949–2016Allan Barnesjazz saxophonist, flutist, composerDetroit saxophonist and flutist of Donald Byrd's Blackbyrds, heard on "Walking in Rhythm," who spent most of his career as a Detroit bandleader and educator.
Music · 1866–1945Max Bendixviolinist, conductor, teacherDetroit-born violinist who became the first concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and gave the American premiere of Dvořák's Violin Concerto in 1891.
Theatre & dance · 1871–1932Jessie Bonstelletheater director, actress, company managerPioneering stage director who ran Detroit's Garrick Theatre stock company and in 1925 founded the playhouse that became the Detroit Civic Theatre, today's Bonstelle Theatre.
Politics · 1884–1957Charles Bowleslawyer, judge, mayor of DetroitKlan-backed candidate who nearly won the 1924 mayoral race as a write-in, later became mayor in 1930 and was recalled within six months amid charges of tolerating crime.
Sports · 1939–2013Gates Brownbaseball player, pinch hitter, coachBeloved pinch hitter who spent his whole playing career with the Tigers (1963–1975), lived in Detroit for more than fifty years and coached the 1984 champions.Eddie "Guitar" Burnsblues guitarist, harmonica player, singerMississippi-born guitarist and harmonica player who spent six decades on the Detroit blues scene, backing John Lee Hooker and leading his own bands.Sada BabyrapperEast-side Detroit rapper and one of the defining voices of the city's late-2010s street-rap wave, known for “Bloxk Party” and “Whole Lotta Choppas”.General Bakerautoworker, labor organizer, revolutionary activistDetroit autoworker who co-founded the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in the late 1960s.
Ekrem Bardhabusinessman, community leader, honorary consulAlbanian refugee who fled communism in 1953, settled in the Detroit area and became a major McDonald's franchisee and a leading voice of the Albanian American diaspora.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.Janie BradfordsongwriterMotown's first receptionist, who as a teenager co-wrote "Money (That's What I Want)" with Berry Gordy at Hitsville.
Music · born 1961John BrannonsingerPontiac-born singer of Negative Approach, the Detroit band that pioneered Midwest hardcore punk in 1981, and later of the Ann Arbor noise-rock band Laughing Hyenas.Walter O. Briggsauto-body manufacturer, owner of the Detroit TigersYpsilanti-born industrialist whose Briggs Manufacturing built car bodies for Detroit's automakers and who expanded the Tigers' ballpark into Briggs Stadium.
City history · 1853–1932Clarence M. Burtonlawyer, businessman, historian and collectorDetroit title lawyer and historian whose private archive became the Burton Historical Collection, the backbone of Detroit history research.Darrell BankssingerSoul singer whose "Open the Door to Your Heart" (1966) on the Detroit label Revilot became a hit and a northern soul treasure; he was killed in Detroit in 1970.J. J. Barnessinger, songwriterDetroit soul singer whose Ric-Tic and Groovesville records, including "Baby Please Come Back Home", became northern soul favorites.Ortheia BarnesR&B and jazz singer, ministerDetroit R&B and jazz singer, sister of J. J. Barnes, who opened for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight and later entered the ministry.
Music · born 1943Annette BeardsingerDetroit-born original Vandella who sang on "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave" and "Quicksand" before leaving in 1964.Harry Begianband director, conductor, arrangerArmenian American band director who made Cass Tech's band nationally famous from 1947 to 1964 before leading the bands of Michigan State and the University of Illinois.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".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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