Music · born 1947
Iggy Popsinger, songwriterFrontman of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor band that roared out of Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and the “Godfather of Punk,” inspired as a boy by the din of Ford's Rouge plant.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
- 14 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
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A–Z (family name)
37 people
Clear filtersMusic · born 1947Iggy Popsinger, songwriterFrontman of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor band that roared out of Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and the “Godfather of Punk,” inspired as a boy by the din of Ford's Rouge plant.
Business & brands · 1916–2009Robert McNamaraFord Motor Company president, U.S. Secretary of DefenseOne of Ford's postwar 'Whiz Kids', he rose to president of Ford in 1960 before leaving for Washington as Secretary of Defense.
Science & invention · born 1960Eric BetzigphysicistPhysicist who shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy; born in Ann Arbor, he spent years back in Michigan at his family's machine-tool company.
Science & invention · born 1932Alvin PlantingaphilosopherLeading Christian philosopher of religion and Templeton Prize laureate, born in Ann Arbor, who began his professorial career at Wayne State University in Detroit (1958–1963).
Science & invention · 1864–1929Charles Horton CooleysociologistPioneer of American sociology who coined the 'looking-glass self'; he spent his whole life in Ann Arbor and taught the University of Michigan's first sociology course.
Science & invention · 1887–1975
Kazimierz Fajansphysical chemistPolish-born pioneer of radioactivity and co-discoverer of protactinium, who taught at the University of Michigan from 1936 after leaving Nazi Germany.
Science & invention · 1904–2007
Rudolf Arnheimart and film theorist, psychologistGerman-born theorist of art and visual perception, author of Art and Visual Perception, who spent his last three decades in Ann Arbor and taught at the University of Michigan.
Visual art · 1875–1955
Carl MillessculptorSwedish sculptor who spent twenty years as Cranbrook's sculptor-in-residence, filling its gardens with fountains and leaving works in Detroit and Ann Arbor.
Music · 1948–2009Ron Ashetonguitarist, bassist, songwriterGuitarist and co-founder of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor proto-punk band that served as a house band at Detroit's Grande Ballroom.Dave Alexanderbassist, songwriterOriginal bassist of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor proto-punk band that came up through Detroit's Grande Ballroom alongside the MC5.
Science & invention · 1903–1981Rensis Likertsocial psychologistPsychologist behind the Likert scale and founder of the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor.
Music · 1931–2010Shirley Verrettopera singer (mezzo-soprano and soprano), voice teacherCelebrated Verdi and Donizetti star who spent her final 14 years teaching voice at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she died in 2010.
Sports · born 1989Evan Batesice dancerOlympic champion ice dancer born and raised in Ann Arbor, who trained for years in suburban Canton and won national silver in Detroit in 2019 with Madison Chock.Ronald Inglehartpolitical scientistFounding president of the World Values Survey and theorist of 'post-materialist' values, who taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1966 until his death in 2021.
Music · born 1979Andrew W.K.singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, motivational speakerAnn Arbor–raised rocker who cut his teeth in Detroit punk, metal and noise bands before his anthem “Party Hard” made him a star in 2001.
Music · 1930–2014Robert AshleycomposerAnn Arbor-born avant-garde composer who co-founded the ONCE Festival of new music in his hometown and later invented the “television opera”.
Music · 1949–2014Scott AshetondrummerThe Stooges' drummer, raised in Ann Arbor from age 14, whose primal beat drove the band from its Grande Ballroom debut to its 21st-century reunion.
Sports · born 1994Andrew Coppice hockey forwardAnn Arbor-born forward who played youth hockey with Detroit Compuware, starred at the University of Michigan and signed a five-year contract with the Red Wings in 2022.Tom Monaghanentrepreneur, founder of Domino's Pizza, former Detroit Tigers ownerAnn Arbor–born founder of Domino's Pizza who owned the Detroit Tigers during their 1984 World Series championship.Eric Namesnikcompetition swimmer, coachTwo-time Olympic silver medalist swimmer who spent nearly two decades in the University of Michigan swimming program, first as an athlete and later as a coach, before his death near Ann Arbor.
Politics · born 1953Debbie Dingellpolitician, former GM executiveDetroit-born descendant of the Fisher Body family and former GM executive who succeeded her husband John Dingell in Congress in 2015, representing Dearborn and later Ann Arbor and western Wayne County.
Music · 1949–2015Steve Mackaytenor saxophonistAnn Arbor saxophonist whose wild tenor lines on the Stooges' Fun House (1970) are some of the most famous horn parts in punk's prehistory.Virgil Exnerautomotive designer, creator of Chrysler's Forward LookAnn Arbor–born designer whose Forward Look gave Chrysler its soaring 1955–1963 tailfin cars and set off a styling race with GM.
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.
Music · born 1955Pheeroan akLaffjazz drummer, percussionist, educatorDetroit-born drummer, born Paul Maddox, who started in Detroit and Ann Arbor funk and R&B bands and became a leading drummer of American creative jazz.
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.
Music · born 1955Niagarasinger, painterDetroit-born singer of the art-punk band Destroy All Monsters and a painter of pop-noir women whose shows made her the “Queen of Detroit” of lowbrow art.
Music · born 1948Bill Kirchenguitarist, singer, songwriterAnn Arbor–raised guitarist of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, whose twangy solo on “Hot Rod Lincoln” earned him the title “Titan of the Telecaster.”
MusicTadd Mullinixelectronic producerAnn Arbor producer who made Ghostly International's first album and, as Dabrye, fused instrumental hip-hop with electronics, recording with J Dilla and Phat Kat.Boogie Woogie Redblues and boogie-woogie pianist, singerDetroit-raised boogie-woogie pianist who backed John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson as a teenager and later became a star of Ann Arbor's Blind Pig.
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.Scott Morgansinger, guitarist, songwriterAnn Arbor soul-rock singer who fronted the Rationals in the 1960s and later co-led Sonic's Rendezvous Band with the MC5's Fred “Sonic” Smith.
Harry Bennetthead of Ford's Service Department, Henry Ford's enforcerAnn Arbor–born ex-boxer who ran Ford's feared Service Department, led violent anti-union actions at the Rouge and was fired by Henry Ford II in 1945.George Fraynepianist, singer, bandleader, painterAs Commander Cody, the University of Michigan art student founded the Lost Planet Airmen in Ann Arbor in 1967, pioneering boogie-woogie country rock and the hit “Hot Rod Lincoln.”Cary Lorenguitarist, filmmaker, photographer, booksellerDetroit-born filmmaker and guitarist who co-founded Destroy All Monsters and has run the Book Beat, an Oak Park bookstore, since 1982.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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