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The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
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Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your datesDETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
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.
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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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.
Music · 1917–2001John Lee Hookerblues singer, songwriter, guitaristDelta-born bluesman who built his electric boogie sound in Detroit's Hastings Street clubs and cut the 1948 hit "Boogie Chillen'" in a Detroit studio.
Music · 1925–1981Bill Haleysinger, guitarist, bandleaderRock and roll pioneer of “Rock Around the Clock,” born in Highland Park, the Ford factory town surrounded by Detroit, in 1925.
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 · 1922–2002Kim Hunterstage, film and television actressDetroit-born actress who created Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway, won an Oscar for the film, and later played Zira in Planet of the Apes.
Sports · 1928–2016
Gordie Howeice hockey player, right wingDetroit Red Wings right wing for 25 seasons, often called the most complete player in hockey history, whose nickname 'Mr. Hockey' became synonymous with the city.
Labor · 1913–1975Jimmy HoffaTeamsters union president (1957–1971)Detroit-raised Teamsters boss who built the union's power from Local 299, went to prison and vanished outside a suburban restaurant in 1975.
Press & broadcasting · born 1959Chris Hansentelevision journalist, presenterDateline NBC's To Catch a Predator host, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and learned investigative reporting at WXYZ and WDIV.
Film & TV · born 1945Ernie Hudsonactor, playwrightGhostbusters' Winston Zeddemore, who came to Detroit as a young man, wrote plays for the Black theater company Concept East and graduated from Wayne State in 1973.
Sports · born 1965
Dominik Hašekice hockey goaltenderCzech Hall of Fame goaltender, widely considered among the greatest ever, who won both of his Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings.
Film & TV · born 1953Tom Hulceactor, theater producerOscar-nominated Mozart of Amadeus, born in Detroit and raised in Plymouth, the son of a Ford Motor Company employee.
Sports · born 1972Grant Hillbasketball player, team executiveHall of Fame forward the Pistons drafted third overall in 1994; for six seasons he was Detroit's franchise player before an injury and free agency sent him to Orlando.
Film & TV · 1921–2007Betty Huttonactress, singer, comedian, dancerParamount's high-energy musical star of the 1940s grew up poor in Depression-era Detroit and was discovered singing in the city's nightclubs.
Film & TV · 1945–2016Curtis Hansonfilm director, screenwriter, producerOscar-winning director who shot 8 Mile (2002) in Detroit, reworking the script to ground Eminem's story in the city's plants, radio and rap battles.
Sports · born 1978Richard Hamiltonbasketball player, shooting guardThree-time All-Star shooting guard who anchored the Pistons for nine seasons, led Detroit to the 2004 NBA championship, and had his No. 32 retired by the team.
Music · 1902–1988Son Houseblues singer, slide guitaristDelta blues master who shaped Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, spent his last years in Detroit and is buried at Mount Hazel Cemetery under a monument paid for by local fans.
Film & TV · born 1979Elisabeth HarnoisactressFormer child star of Disney's Adventures in Wonderland and CSI investigator Morgan Brody, born in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1966Hill Harperactor, author, political candidateActor from CSI: NY and The Good Doctor who moved to Detroit in 2016, bought a downtown coffee roastery and ran for the U.S. Senate from Michigan in 2024.
Sports · born 1992Tobias Harrisbasketball forwardVersatile scoring forward traded to the Pistons in 2016, who returned on a two-year contract in 2024 to help lead Detroit back to the playoffs after years of losing.
Music · 1937–2001Joe Hendersonjazz tenor saxophonist, composerOhio-born tenor saxophone giant of Blue Note and Verve who came of age in Detroit's 1950s jazz scene and studied at Wayne State University.
Sports · born 1964Brett Hullice hockey right winger, executiveOne of the NHL's greatest goal scorers, Hull signed with Detroit in 2001 chasing a second Stanley Cup and won it in 2002, switching his number out of respect for Vladimir Konstantinov.
Sports · born 1961Lynn Hillrock climberDetroit-born rock climber, raised in California, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbers in the sport's history for her 1993 first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan.
Religion · 1920–2004James Aloysius HickeyCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of WashingtonMichigan-born cardinal who trained for the priesthood at Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary before leading the Archdiocese of Washington for twenty years.
Music · born 1970Richie HawtinDJ, electronic musician, label founderWindsor-raised techno producer who crossed the river into Detroit's clubs, co-founded Plus 8 and became a leading figure of minimal techno as Plastikman.
Sports · born 1958Thomas Hearnsboxer, champion in five weight divisionsThe Kronk Gym's most famous product: a lanky Detroit fighter who became the first boxer to win world titles in five weight divisions.
Sports · born 1993Connor Hellebuyckice hockey goaltenderMetro Detroit-born goaltender who grew up in Commerce Township and went on to win the NHL's Hart Trophy as MVP and lead the United States to Olympic gold in 2026.
Music · born 1991Angel Hazerapper, singerDetroit-born rapper and singer (now performing as ROES) known for the album Dirty Gold and raw, confessional verses; they grew up in the city before moving to New York at 15.
Sports · born 1971Allan Houstonbasketball player, shooting guard, executiveSharpshooting guard who began his NBA career with three seasons in Detroit before becoming a two-time All-Star with the Knicks.David Hahnamateur experimenterThe 'Radioactive Boy Scout' who, as a teenager in suburban Detroit, tried to build a breeder reactor in a backyard shed in Commerce Township, prompting an EPA cleanup in 1995.
Sports · born 1949Spencer Haywoodbasketball playerMississippi-born Hall of Famer who moved to Detroit as a teenager, led one of the great teams in Michigan high school history, and starred at the University of Detroit before a groundbreaking pro career.
Sports · born 1984Jimmy Howardice hockey goaltender, broadcasterGoaltender who spent his entire NHL career with the Red Wings, backstopping the team for over a decade before staying on in Detroit as a television analyst.
Music · 1929–2021Barry Harrisjazz pianist, composer, educatorDetroit bebop pianist whose family home was a jam-session school for a generation of the city's jazz musicians, and who became one of jazz's great teachers.
Politics · born 1967Jon HustedpoliticianOhio Republican, U.S. senator since 2025, who was born in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak and adopted as an infant by an Ohio family.
Sports · 1931–2026Glenn Hallice hockey goaltenderHall of Fame goaltender who broke in with the Red Wings and later set the NHL's iron-man record of 502 consecutive games, mostly earned after leaving Detroit.Brian Hollandsongwriter, record producerDetroit-born songwriter and producer, the musical architect of Holland–Dozier–Holland, whose hits for the Supremes and Four Tops defined the Motown sound.
Film & TV · born 1983Ellen HollmanactressDetroit-born actress known for the warrior Saxa in Starz's Spartacus and roles in The Matrix Resurrections.
Sports · born 1955Mark Howeice hockey defenseman and executiveDetroit-born son of Gordie Howe, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who played his final NHL season for the Red Wings and then spent decades in the club's front office.Darnell Hallsprinter and police officerDetroit-born 400-meter sprinter who grew up in public housing, won a state title at Pershing High School, ran in the 1992 Olympics, and later became a Detroit police officer.
Sports · born 1957Glen Hanlonice hockey goaltender, later coachVeteran goaltender who anchored the Red Wings' crease for five seasons, sharing duties with Greg Stefan as Detroit reached back-to-back conference finals in 1987 and 1988.
Music · 1932–2002Roland Hannajazz pianist, composer, educatorDetroit-born pianist of the city's celebrated bebop piano school, a Cass Tech graduate and longtime Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra member, knighted by Liberia in 1970.
Sports · born 1943Paul Hendersonice hockey playerCanada's 1972 Summit Series hero, who broke into the NHL with the Red Wings organization and reached two Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit before a blockbuster trade to Toronto.Gil Hillpolice commander, city council president, actorDetroit homicide chief who played Eddie Murphy's boss, Inspector Todd, in Beverly Hills Cop, then led the Detroit City Council and ran for mayor in 2001.
Sports · born 1984Jiří Hudlerice hockey forwardCzech forward drafted by Detroit who scored the game-winning goal in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final and won the championship with the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1972Derian Hatcherice hockey defensemanSterling Heights native who captained Dallas to the 1999 Stanley Cup and later came home to play for the Red Wings.
Music · born 1979Mayer Hawthornesinger, producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalistAnn Arbor-raised hip-hop DJ turned soul singer whose Motown-inspired records on Stones Throw revived classic Detroit soul for a new generation.
Music · born 1937Louis Hayesjazz drummer, bandleaderDetroit-born drummer who led a band in the city's clubs before he was 16 and went on to Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson; NEA Jazz Master 2023.Martha Henrystage and screen actress, directorLeading lady of Canada's Stratford Festival for six decades, born Martha Buhs in Detroit and raised in Bloomfield Hills, where she attended Cranbrook's Kingswood School.
City history · 1753–1825William Hullarmy officer, first governor of Michigan TerritoryFirst governor of Michigan Territory who, as a general, surrendered Fort Detroit to the British without a battle in August 1812.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 ↗
