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 →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
190 people · 3/4 page
Clear filters
Music · born 1940Bennie Maupinjazz saxophonist, bass clarinetist, flutistDetroit-born reed player whose bass clarinet is heard on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew and in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi and Headhunters bands.
Science & invention · 1844–1929Elijah McCoyengineer and inventor of automatic lubricatorsCanadian-born Black engineer whose automatic lubricators kept North America's locomotives running; he spent his last decades inventing in Detroit.
Sports · 1893–1962Tommy Miltonracing driver, automotive engineerFirst driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice (1921 and 1923), despite having sight in only one eye; he spent his later years in the Detroit area auto industry.
Music · 1949–2022Barbara Morrisonjazz and blues singer, educatorYpsilanti-born, Romulus-raised jazz and blues singer who first sang on Detroit radio at ten and became a mainstay of the Los Angeles jazz scene.
Military · 1782–1841Alexander MacombCommanding General of the US ArmyDetroit-born general, hero of the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814 and commanding general of the US Army from 1828 to 1841; Macomb County is named after him.
Politics · 1811–1843Stevens T. Masonterritorial secretary, first governor of MichiganThe 'Boy Governor' who ran Michigan Territory from Detroit at 19, led it to statehood in 1837 as its first governor and now lies under his statue in Capitol Park.
Business & brands · 1838–1902James McMillanindustrialist, U.S. senatorCanadian-born Detroit railcar and shipping magnate who led Michigan's Republican machine as a U.S. senator (1889–1902) and chaired the McMillan Commission that reshaped Washington's National Mall.
Politics · 1894–1966Patrick V. McNamarapipefitter, union leader, U.S. senatorDetroit pipefitter and union local president who upset Senator Homer Ferguson in 1954 and served in the U.S. Senate until 1966; Detroit's federal building bears his name.
Architecture & design · 1912–1988Bill Mitchellautomotive designer, GM vice president of designHarley Earl's successor as GM's design chief, the man behind the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray and Buick Riviera.
MusicMoodymannhouse producer, DJ, label ownerDetroit's most defiantly local house producer, whose soulful, sample-rich records and Soul Skate parties celebrate the city's Black music culture.
Music · born 1957Janiva Magnessblues and soul singer, songwriter, authorDetroit-born blues and soul singer, Blues Foundation Entertainer of the Year in 2009, whose hard Detroit childhood shaped her music and her foster-care advocacy.
Sports · born 1972Darren McCartyice hockey forwardRed Wings enforcer and Grind Line winger who won four Stanley Cups and scored the Cup-winning goal in 1997.
Literature · born 1939Thomas McGuanenovelist, short-story writer, screenwriterWyandotte-born novelist of Ninety-Two in the Shade who grew up downriver from Detroit and attended Cranbrook before becoming a chronicler of the American West.
Theatre & dance · born 1942Donna McKechniemusical theater dancer, singer, actress, choreographerPontiac-born dancer who trained in Royal Oak and won the 1976 Tony Award as Cassie in A Chorus Line, a role built largely on her own story.
Music · born 1982Holly Mirandasinger-songwriter, multi-instrumentalistDetroit-raised singer-songwriter who began in church choirs and went on to front the Brooklyn band the Jealous Girlfriends and release acclaimed solo albums.
Music · born 1972MKDJ, record producer, remixerDetroit-born house producer whose 1990s hits “Burning” and “Always” and his remix of Nightcrawlers' “Push the Feeling On” made him a dance-music hitmaker.
Architecture & design · 1832–1909Elijah E. MyersarchitectArchitect of the Michigan, Texas and Colorado state capitols, who ran his national practice from Detroit for nearly four decades.
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.
Visual art · 1924–2021Charles McGeepainter, sculptor, teacherDetroit painter and sculptor who shaped the city's art scene for seven decades, from Gallery 7 to his giant Unity mural on 28 Grand.
Press & broadcasting · born 1958Elvis Mitchellfilm critic, radio host, filmmakerHighland Park-born film critic, Wayne State graduate and former Detroit Free Press critic who became a New York Times critic and host of public radio's The Treatment.
Music · 1938–2017Pete Moorebass singer, songwriter, vocal arranger, producerDetroit-born bass singer and uncredited vocal arranger of the Miracles, co-writer of "The Tracks of My Tears", "Ooo Baby Baby" and "Love Machine".
Visual art · 1875–1941Géza Marótisculptor, architect, applied artistHungarian sculptor and designer whom Eliel Saarinen brought to Detroit in 1927; he created the Fisher Building's arcade paintings and sculpture and the reliefs of Belle Isle's Livingstone Lighthouse.
Law · born 1960Greg Mathisjudge, television arbitrator, authorDetroit-raised former gang member who became a 36th District Court judge in the city and then TV's 'Judge Mathis' for 24 seasons (1999–2023).
Sports · born 1944Denny McLainbaseball pitcherTigers right-hander who won 31 games in 1968, the last major-leaguer to win 30 in a season, taking the MVP and Cy Young awards for the world champions.
Music · born 1983Black Milkrapper, record producerDetroit rapper-producer who carried the J Dilla and Slum Village tradition into the 2000s with dense, live-sounding beats and albums such as Tronic and Album of the Year.
Music · 1895–1981Mischa Mischakoffviolinist, concertmaster, teacherUkrainian-born violinist who led the string sections of America's top orchestras and was concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony under Paul Paray from 1952 to 1968.
Music · 1918–1983Wild Bill MooreR&B and jazz tenor saxophonistDetroit tenor saxophonist and former Golden Gloves champion whose 1947 "We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll" is counted among the first rock and roll records.
Politics · 1848–1909William C. Mayburylawyer, congressman, mayor of DetroitDetroit-born lawyer and congressman who was mayor from 1897 to 1904, sealed the Detroit Century Box time capsule and invested in Henry Ford's first car company; his statue stands in Grand Circus Park.
Science & invention · 1891–1962Robert R. McMathsolar astronomer, engineer, businessmanDetroit engineer and businessman turned solar astronomer, co-founder of the McMath–Hulbert Observatory at Lake Angelus, whose name lives on in the McMath–Pierce solar telescope.
Theatre & dance · 1898–1993Edith Meiseractress, playwright, radio writerDetroit-born actress and writer who brought Sherlock Holmes to American radio in 1930 and appeared in more than 20 Broadway shows.
Politics · 1866–1923Oscar Marxoptical manufacturer, mayor of DetroitFarm boy from the edge of Detroit who built the Michigan Optical Company and was mayor through the 1913–1918 auto boom, appointing James Couzens police commissioner.
Architecture & design · 1856–1948George D. MasonarchitectLong-lived Detroit architect of the Masonic Temple and Mackinac's Grand Hotel, and the early employer of Albert Kahn and Wirt Rowland.
Sports · born 1962Milton McCroryboxer, WBC welterweight championDetroit-born Kronk fighter who won the WBC welterweight title in 1983, the first Detroit-born champion from Emanuel Steward's gym.
Science & invention · born 1948Mani Menonurologist, surgeonUrologist who made Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit the birthplace of robotic cancer surgery as founding director of its Vattikuti Urology Institute.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 ↗