Music · 1819–1900Richard Storrs Willishymn composer, music critic, editorComposer of the tune 'Carol' for It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, who moved to Detroit during the Civil War, lived there for the rest of his life and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.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.
- 1,743 famous people
- 96 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 21 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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1743 people · 26/37 page
Music · 1819–1900Richard Storrs Willishymn composer, music critic, editorComposer of the tune 'Carol' for It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, who moved to Detroit during the Civil War, lived there for the rest of his life and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Business & brands · 1883–1967Matilda Dodge Wilsonheiress, philanthropist, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, co-founder of Oakland UniversityJohn Dodge's widow, who built Meadow Brook Hall and Music Hall, became Michigan's first woman lieutenant governor and gave her estate to found Oakland University.
Labor · 1911–2001Leonard WoodcockUAW president (1970–1977), first US ambassador to the People's Republic of ChinaDetroit machine assembler who succeeded Walter Reuther as UAW president in 1970, then became the first US ambassador to Communist China.
Religion · born 1964Hassan al-Qazwiniimam, religious scholarKarbala-born Shia imam who led Dearborn's Islamic Center of America for eighteen years and became one of Metro Detroit's best-known Muslim voices after 9/11.
Civil rights & activism · 1858–1929Clara Arthursuffragist, playground and public health reformerDetroit suffragist who led the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association and, as the Mother of the Playground Movement, built the city's playground system.
Music · born 1977DJ AssaultDJ, electronic producerDetroit DJ and producer whose raunchy, high-speed “booty” tracks of the 1990s made him the best-known name of the ghettotech sound.
Politics · 1832–1881John J. Bagleytobacco manufacturer, governor of MichiganTeenage tobacco-shop apprentice who built Detroit's Mayflower Tobacco Company and became a reforming governor (1873–1877); his rediscovered statue turned up in DIA storage in 2019.
Music · 1949–2016Allan Barnesjazz saxophonist, flutist, composerDetroit saxophonist and flutist of Donald Byrd's Blackbyrds, heard on "Walking in Rhythm," who spent most of his career as a Detroit bandleader and educator.
Music · 1866–1945Max Bendixviolinist, conductor, teacherDetroit-born violinist who became the first concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and gave the American premiere of Dvořák's Violin Concerto in 1891.
Theatre & dance · 1871–1932Jessie Bonstelletheater director, actress, company managerPioneering stage director who ran Detroit's Garrick Theatre stock company and in 1925 founded the playhouse that became the Detroit Civic Theatre, today's Bonstelle Theatre.
Politics · 1884–1957Charles Bowleslawyer, judge, mayor of DetroitKlan-backed candidate who nearly won the 1924 mayoral race as a write-in, later became mayor in 1930 and was recalled within six months amid charges of tolerating crime.
Sports · 1939–2013Gates Brownbaseball player, pinch hitter, coachBeloved pinch hitter who spent his whole playing career with the Tigers (1963–1975), lived in Detroit for more than fifty years and coached the 1984 champions.
Press & broadcasting · 1928–2016Paul Careyradio broadcasterWJR announcer for 36 years and Ernie Harwell's longtime partner on Tigers radio, known for his deep baritone.
Politics · 1893–1957Albert Cobobusinessman, city treasurer, mayor of DetroitBurroughs executive and city treasurer who as mayor (1950–1957) drove freeway building and urban renewal, blocked public housing in white neighborhoods and gave his name to Cobo Hall.
Science & invention · 1846–1892Charles Van Depoeleinventor, electrical engineerFlemish-born craftsman who made church furniture in Detroit in the 1870s while experimenting with electric light, then became a pioneer of the electric streetcar and inventor of the trolley pole.
Literature · born 1952Loren D. Estlemancrime and Western novelistMichigan crime writer whose Amos Walker private-eye novels and multi-volume Detroit series retell the city's 20th-century history through its underworld.
Music · 1956–2021Deon Estusbassist, singerDetroit-born bassist, taught by Motown's James Jamerson, who played with Wham! and George Michael and had a 1989 top-five hit with “Heaven Help Me.”
Theatre & dance · born 1940Garth Faganchoreographer, dancer, company directorJamaican-born choreographer who spent the 1960s dancing and studying in Detroit before founding Garth Fagan Dance and winning a Tony for The Lion King.
Music · 1958–2023Amp Fiddlerkeyboardist, singer, songwriter, producerDetroit keyboardist of Parliament-Funkadelic and mentor of J Dilla, who lent the young producer his MPC and introduced him to Q-Tip.
Civil rights & activism · 1866–1950Clara Bryant Fordphilanthropist, suffragist, wife of Henry FordHenry Ford's wife and first backer, whom he called 'the Believer', who shaped Fair Lane and championed gardening, nursing and women's suffrage.
Notorious figures · 1919–2001Anthony GiacaloneDetroit Mafia capo and street bossEast Side-born mobster known as Tony Jack, a Detroit Partnership leader whom Jimmy Hoffa expected to meet on the day he vanished in 1975.
Sports · 1882–1951Pete Hillbaseball player and managerHall of Fame outfielder chosen by Rube Foster as the first player-manager of the Detroit Stars when the club was founded in 1919.
Press & broadcasting · 1912–1979Al Hodgeradio and television actorActor who originated the Green Hornet on Detroit's WXYZ (1936–1943) before becoming television's Captain Video.
Music · born 1953Derek St. Holmessinger, guitaristDownriver-born rock singer whose voice is on Ted Nugent's classic 1970s albums, including the original “Stranglehold.”
Music · 1927–2007Joe Hunterpianist, bandleader, arrangerFirst leader of the Funk Brothers (1959–1964), who recruited James Jamerson and played piano on "Shop Around", "Do You Love Me" and "Heat Wave".
Comedy · 1958–2022The Amazing Johnathancomedian, magicianDetroit-born 'Freddy Krueger of Comedy', a gory comedy-magic act that headlined in Las Vegas year-round from 2001 to 2014.
Law · 1922–2019Damon Keithfederal judge, civil rights lawyerDetroit-born federal judge whose rulings desegregated Pontiac schools, struck down warrantless wiretaps and declared that 'democracies die behind closed doors'; he served on the bench for over 50 years.
Science & invention · 1825–1911Herman Kieferphysician, civic leader, diplomatGerman revolutionary of 1848 who fled to Detroit, practiced medicine there for six decades, led German-American civic life and gave his name to the city's public health hospital.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.