Press & broadcasting · 1921–2020
Hugh Downstelevision host, broadcaster, authorVeteran host of Today, Concentration and ABC's 20/20 who got his early radio break at Detroit's WWJ in 1940 and studied at Wayne University.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
- 19 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
98 people · 2/3 page
Clear filtersPress & broadcasting · 1921–2020Hugh Downstelevision host, broadcaster, authorVeteran host of Today, Concentration and ABC's 20/20 who got his early radio break at Detroit's WWJ in 1940 and studied at Wayne University.
Film & TV · 1931–2007Laura Devonactress, singerChicago-born actress raised partly in Grosse Pointe, who learned to act at Wayne State and was discovered in 1961 singing at Detroit's London Chop House.
Politics · 1870–1929Edwin Denbylawyer, congressman, secretary of the NavyDetroit lawyer, congressman and Marine volunteer who became Harding's secretary of the Navy and resigned over the Teapot Dome scandal; Denby High School on the east side bears his name.
Politics · born 1958Mike Dugganlawyer, hospital executive, mayor of DetroitDetroit-born Wayne County prosecutor and Detroit Medical Center chief who won the mayoralty as a write-in in 2013 and led the city's post-bankruptcy recovery for three terms (2014–2025).Bill Davidsonglass industrialist, owner of the Detroit PistonsDetroit-born glass magnate who owned the Pistons for 35 years, built the Palace of Auburn Hills with private money and won three NBA titles.
Law · 1846–1917Donald M. Dickinsonlawyer, U.S. postmaster generalLeading Detroit trial lawyer and Democratic organizer who served as Grover Cleveland's postmaster general (1888–1889); Dickinson County in the Upper Peninsula is named for him.
Politics · 1922–1998Charles Diggsfuneral director, state senator, congressmanDetroit funeral director who in 1954 became Michigan's first Black member of Congress, attended the Emmett Till murder trial and was the founding chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.Anita Dariansoprano, actressDetroit-born Armenian American soprano who sang opera, Broadway and jazz and whose voice soars over the Tokens' 1961 hit 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.
Music · born 1989Kash Dollrapper, actressDetroit rapper who built a following in local clubs, signed with Republic Records and scored with “Ice Me Out” before moving into acting.
Music · born 199442 DuggrapperEast-side Detroit rapper who signed with Yo Gotti and Lil Baby and scored a top-ten hit with “We Paid” in 2020.
Music · born 1997DDGrapper, YouTuber, streamerPontiac-raised rapper and YouTube star whose 2020 hit “Moonwalking in Calabasas” went double platinum.
Music · born 1979Matthew Dearelectronic producer, DJ, singerTexas-born, Michigan-raised producer who co-founded Ghostly International and blended Detroit-inspired minimal techno with pop songwriting.
Politics · 1894–1955John Dingell Sr.printer, labor organizer, congressmanSon of Polish immigrants from Detroit who went from Free Press printer to New Deal congressman (1933–1955), founding a father-and-son dynasty that held the seat for 82 years.
Music · born 1978Dwelesinger, rapper, songwriter, producerWest-side Detroit neo-soul singer discovered by Slum Village and J Dilla, known for his vocals on Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" and "Power".
Music · 1919–1985Johnny Desmondsinger, entertainerDetroit-born big-band singer, the featured vocalist of Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Orchestra in wartime Europe and a popular radio and television star afterward.
Music · 1918–1974Sam Donahuesaxophonist, trumpeter, arranger, bandleaderDetroit-born swing saxophonist and arranger who formed his first band at 15, led Artie Shaw's wartime Navy band and later a Capitol recording orchestra.
Politics · 1865–1947Frank E. Doremusnewspaper editor, lawyer, congressman, mayor of DetroitSmall-town Michigan editor turned Detroit lawyer who served five terms in Congress and was mayor in 1923–1924 until ill health forced him to resign.Jimmy DeSanaphotographerDetroit-born photographer who became a key figure of New York's East Village punk and No Wave art scene of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Theatre & dance · born 1969Lydia R. Diamondplaywright, professorDetroit-born playwright of Stick Fly (2008), The Bluest Eye adaptation and Smart People, and winner of the 2020 Horton Foote Playwriting Award.Margaret Dannerpoet, editor, cultural organizerChicago poet who moved to Detroit in 1959, founded the Boone House arts center and helped launch Detroit's 1960s Black poetry scene.Don Davisrecord producer, songwriter, guitarist, bankerDetroit guitarist and producer behind Johnnie Taylor's "Who's Making Love" and "Disco Lady", owner of United Sound Systems and founder of Michigan's only Black-owned commercial bank.Thornetta Davisblues and R&B singer, songwriterDetroit blues and soul singer who came up through the city's club bands, recorded for Sub Pop, and has won a long list of Detroit Music Awards.
Science & invention · 1846–1892
Charles Van Depoeleinventor, electrical engineerFlemish-born craftsman who made church furniture in Detroit in the 1870s while experimenting with electric light, then became a pioneer of the electric streetcar and inventor of the trolley pole.
Jim Devellanohockey executiveMike Ilitch's first hire as Red Wings general manager in 1982, who drafted Steve Yzerman and built the foundation of four Stanley Cup teams.Gerald Donaldelectronic musician, producerReclusive Detroit electro producer, co-founder of Drexciya with James Stinson and the mind behind Dopplereffekt and Arpanet.Earl Van Dykekeyboardist, bandleaderDetroit-born keyboardist who led the Funk Brothers from 1964 and played on "My Guy", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".
Music · 1943–2012Michael DavisbassistBassist of the MC5, a Wayne State art student who joined the band in 1964 and played on Kick Out the Jams, recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom.
Music · 1945–1982Rusty DaysingerDetroit rock singer who fronted the Amboy Dukes and the hard-driving blues-rock band Cactus, and later tried to revive the band Detroit.David DiChieraopera impresario, composer, musicologistFounder of Michigan Opera Theatre (now Detroit Opera), who built Detroit a resident opera company in 1971 and a restored opera house in 1996.
Music · 1925–2000Lucia Dlugoszewskicomposer, poet, instrument inventorDetroit-born Polish American avant-garde composer who invented the 'timbre piano' and dozens of percussion instruments and was music director of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company.
MusicChez Damierhouse DJ and producerChicago-born house DJ who co-founded Detroit's legendary Music Institute in 1988 and later co-ran the deep-house label Prescription with Ron Trent.Jay Danielelectronic producer, DJ, label ownerDetroit house and techno producer launched by Theo Parrish and Kyle Hall, whose debut album Broken Knowz came out on Ninja Tune.Lawson Demingactor, television horror hostCleveland-born actor who, as the cackling vampire Sir Graves Ghastly, hosted Saturday horror movies on Detroit's WJBK-TV 2 for fifteen seasons, from 1967 to 1982.Toi Derricottepoet, memoirist, teacherFrost Medal–winning poet and co-founder of Cave Canem, born in Hamtramck and educated in Detroit, whose first book came out from Detroit's Lotus Press.Jim Diamondrecord producer, engineer, bassistDownriver-raised producer whose downtown studio, Ghetto Recorders, captured the sound of Detroit's garage revival, including the first White Stripes records.
Politics · 1894–1967Charles Diggs Sr.funeral director, state senatorMississippi-born Detroit funeral-home owner and Garveyite who became the first African American Democrat in the Michigan Senate (1937–1944) and wrote the state's civil rights law.
Business & brands · 1866–1970Anna Thompson Dodgephilanthropist, heiress of Dodge BrothersScottish-born widow of Horace Dodge, one of the richest women in the world, who backed the DSO and paid for the Dodge fountain in Hart Plaza.
Music · born 1962Vinnie Dombroskisinger, songwriterDetroit-born singer and founder of Sponge, the 1990s alternative rock band behind “Plowed” and “Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain).”
Politics · 1820–1877William C. Duncanbrewer, mayor of Detroit, state senatorGreat Lakes steamer steward turned Detroit brewer who was the first president of the city council and mayor during the Civil War years of 1862–1863.Aaron Dworkinviolinist, arts leader, educatorViolinist and MacArthur Fellow who in 1997 founded the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization to develop young Black and Latino classical musicians.George DeBaptisteUnderground Railroad conductor, entrepreneurBarber, caterer and steamboat owner who led Detroit's Underground Railroad from 1846, ferrying freedom seekers across the river to Canada.Warren Defevermusician, producer, mastering engineerLivonia-born leader of the shape-shifting band His Name Is Alive, a 4AD act recorded in his parents' basement, who now masters records at Third Man Records in Detroit.Brazeal Dennardchoral director, singer, arranger, educatorDetroit choral director and music educator who founded the Brazeal Dennard Chorale in 1972 and carried the African American spiritual onto the concert stage.Terrence Dixontechno producer, DJReclusive Detroit minimal-techno producer, also known as Population One, whose stark, groove-based records appeared on Tresor and Metroplex.Forest Dewey DodrillsurgeonHarper Hospital surgeon who in 1952 performed the first successful open-heart operation using a mechanical heart pump, built with General Motors engineers.
Politics · 1813–1855James A. Van Dykelawyer, fire chief, mayor of DetroitEloquent Whig lawyer and fire-department president who was Detroit's 21st mayor (1847) and later the Michigan Central Railroad's attorney.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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