Sports · 1917–2002Byron WhiteAmerican football halfback; later U.S. Supreme Court justiceHeisman runner-up and NFL rushing leader who played two seasons for the Detroit Lions while attending Yale Law School, before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice.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.
- 1,912 famous people
- 135 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
6 people
Clear filtersSports · 1917–2002Byron WhiteAmerican football halfback; later U.S. Supreme Court justiceHeisman runner-up and NFL rushing leader who played two seasons for the Detroit Lions while attending Yale Law School, before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Politics · 1911–1988G. Mennen Williamsgovernor of Michigan, diplomat, chief justiceDetroit-born heir to the Mennen toiletries fortune ('Soapy') who as six-term governor (1949–1961) forged Michigan's Democratic alliance of labor, Black voters and liberals.
Politics · 1780–1861William Woodbridgeterritorial secretary, governor of Michigan, U.S. senatorLewis Cass's lifelong friend who came to Detroit in 1814 as territorial secretary and became Michigan's second governor; his farm became the site of Tiger Stadium, and the Woodbridge neighborhood bears his name.
Military · 1823–1907Orlando B. WillcoxUnion general, lawyer, authorDetroit-born West Pointer and Detroit lawyer who led the 1st Michigan Infantry to Bull Run, won the Medal of Honor and served as a Union general.
Law · 1774–1827Augustus B. Woodwardfirst chief justice of Michigan Territory, city plannerFirst chief justice of Michigan Territory who drew up Detroit's radial street plan after the fire of 1805; Woodward Avenue bears his name.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 ↗