DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Detroiters born in Hungary or of Hungarian descent, and people with strong ties to Hungarian culture: Harry Houdini, conductor Antal Doráti, Ford Model T engineer József Galamb, and the priests, athletes and politicians of Delray's Hungarian neighborhood.
Origin and citizenship
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Theatre & dance · 1874–1926
Harry Houdiniillusionist, escape artist, stage and film performerBudapest-born escape artist who played Detroit's vaudeville houses for decades, leapt handcuffed off the Belle Isle Bridge in 1906 and died in the city on Halloween 1926.
Science & invention · 1920–2000John Harsanyieconomist, game theoristBudapest-born Nobel laureate in economics and a founder of modern game theory, who taught at Wayne State University in Detroit from 1961 to 1963.
Film & TV · 1931–2024Mitzi Gaynoractress, dancer, singerMusical film star of South Pacific, the daughter of a Hungarian-descended musician, who spent part of her childhood in Detroit before her family moved to Hollywood.
Music · 1906–1988Antal Doráticonductor, composerBudapest-born conductor and pupil of Bartók and Kodály who led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1981 and put it back on the world's record shelves.
Music · born 1952Kim Kashkashianviolist, teacherDetroit-born Armenian-American violist, one of the world's leading players of her instrument and a Grammy winner for music by Hungarian composers.Abraham Nemethmathematician, inventor of Nemeth BrailleBlind mathematician from a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant family who taught at the University of Detroit for three decades and created the Nemeth Braille Code for mathematics.
Music · born 1961Rick Margitzajazz tenor saxophonist, composerDetroit-born tenor saxophonist of Hungarian Romani descent who played with Miles Davis and recorded three albums for Blue Note before settling in Paris.
Politics · 1890–1963Rudolph G. Tenerowiczphysician, politicianBudapest-born Polish-American physician who served as mayor of Hamtramck and as a US congressman from Detroit, a career marked by a bribery conviction and his role in the 1942 Sojourner Truth Homes conflict.
Music · 1888–1957Victor Kolarconductor, composer, violinistBudapest-born conductor who spent two decades on the podium of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, rising from assistant to principal conductor, and died in Detroit.
Visual art · 1926–2013Balthazar Korabarchitectural photographer, architectHungarian-born architect-photographer who joined Eero Saarinen's Michigan office in 1955 and became one of America's leading architectural photographers from his Detroit-area base.Andy FarkasAmerican football fullbackHungarian-American fullback who came of age at University of Detroit Jesuit and the University of Detroit, starred for Washington and finished his NFL career with the Detroit Lions.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.
Politics · 1922–1993Zolton Ferencylawyer, political activist, professorDetroit-born son of a Hungarian-American family who chaired the Michigan Democratic Party, ran for governor in 1966 and later founded the left-wing Human Rights Party.Martha Glaserjazz manager, producer, civil rights activistDaughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants who grew up in southwest Detroit, turned to civil rights work after the 1943 Detroit riot and became the longtime manager of jazz pianist Erroll Garner.John Nicholspolice commissioner, sheriffSon of Detroit's southwest-side Hungarian community who rose to Detroit police commissioner and narrowly lost the 1973 mayoral race to Coleman Young.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 ↗