Business & brands · 1834–1894Stephen Benedict Grummondshipowner, marine industrialist, mayor of DetroitSt. Clair River sailor who built a Great Lakes shipping empire from Detroit, including the largest tug and wrecking business on the lakes, and was mayor in 1884–1885.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
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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223 people · 5/5 page
Clear filtersBusiness & brands · 1834–1894Stephen Benedict Grummondshipowner, marine industrialist, mayor of DetroitSt. Clair River sailor who built a Great Lakes shipping empire from Detroit, including the largest tug and wrecking business on the lakes, and was mayor in 1884–1885.
Politics · 1786–1826Henry I. Huntmerchant, mayor of DetroitEarly Detroit merchant and officeholder who became mayor in 1826 and died in office that September; uncle of the Civil War artillery chief of the same name.
Politics · 1787–1846De Garmo Jonesbusinessman, mayor of Detroit, state senatorHard-driving Detroit entrepreneur, railroad director and builder of Michigan's first capitol, who served as mayor in 1839.
Business & brands · 1833–1909George C. Langdonbrewer, maltster, mayor of DetroitBookkeeper turned brewer and maltster who was Detroit's 38th mayor (1878–1879) and later, after losing his fortune, worked as a clerk at City Hall.
Business & brands · 1819–1882Merrill I. Millsfur trader, tobacco and stove manufacturer, mayor of DetroitConnecticut gunpowder heir who stayed in Detroit by accident in 1845, built tobacco and stove companies and was the city's Democratic mayor in 1866–1867.
Politics · 1822–1900John Pattoncarriage maker, mayor of DetroitIrish-born carriage maker and popular fire-company leader who served as Detroit's mayor in 1858–1859, the first two-year term under a new charter.
Business & brands · 1854–1924Frederick K. Stearnspharmaceutical manufacturer, owner of the Detroit Wolverines, DSO founderPresident of Detroit's Frederick Stearns & Company who owned the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines and organized what became the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Auto industry · 1888–1961Lawrence P. Fisherpresident of Cadillac, Fisher Body co-ownerThe Fisher brother who ran Cadillac and discovered designer Harley Earl, bringing him to Detroit to style the 1927 LaSalle.
MusicDJ GodfatherDJ, producer, label owner, nightclub ownerOne of the founding DJs of Detroit ghettotech, head of the Databass label and a fixture of the city's club scene for more than three decades.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 ↗