Music · 1935–1998Sonny Bonosinger, songwriter, producer, politicianDetroit-born half of Sonny & Cher, who later became mayor of Palm Springs and a U.S. congressman; the family left Michigan for California when he was a boy.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.
- 1,940 famous people
- 366 Detroit places
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
13 people
Clear filtersMusic · 1935–1998Sonny Bonosinger, songwriter, producer, politicianDetroit-born half of Sonny & Cher, who later became mayor of Palm Springs and a U.S. congressman; the family left Michigan for California when he was a boy.
Civil rights & activism · 1931–2023Daniel Ellsbergmilitary analyst, whistleblower, activistThe Pentagon Papers whistleblower grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills.
Politics · 1934–2021Carl Levinpolitician, lawyerDetroit-born Democrat who sat on the city council in the 1970s and then served Michigan in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, longest in the state's history.
Sports · 1931–2017Jim Bunningbaseball pitcher, later U.S. SenatorHall of Fame pitcher who spent nine seasons with the Tigers, throwing a no-hitter and a 20-win season, before a Hall of Fame career and later the U.S. Senate.
Sports · born 1938Hayes Joneshurdler, public officialPontiac-raised hurdler who won Olympic gold in the 110 meters hurdles in Tokyo in 1964 and later led metro Detroit's suburban bus system.
Civil rights & activism · 1939–2016Tom Haydenactivist, author, politicianRoyal Oak-raised author of the Port Huron Statement and New Left leader who grew up in Father Coughlin's parish and later served in the California legislature.
Politics · born 1931Sander Levinpolitician, lawyerDetroit-born Democrat who represented northwestern Detroit and its northern suburbs in Congress for 36 years (1983–2019) and chaired the Ways and Means Committee.
Politics · 1939–2021Barbara-Rose Collinspolitician, activistDetroit-born single mother turned activist who rose from the school board and City Council to become the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress (1991–1997).
Civil rights & activism · 1938–1989Kenneth Cockrel Sr.radical lawyer, community organizer, city councilmanMarxist lawyer and co-founder of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers who won landmark courtroom battles for poor Detroiters and sat on the City Council (1978–1982).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 ↗