Business & brands · 1822–1908
Alexander Lewisgrain merchant, mayor of DetroitWindsor-born grain and flour merchant who ran one of Detroit's largest businesses, served as police commissioner and was Democratic mayor in 1876–1877.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.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
1568 people · 30/33 page
Clear filtersBusiness & brands · 1822–1908Alexander Lewisgrain merchant, mayor of DetroitWindsor-born grain and flour merchant who ran one of Detroit's largest businesses, served as police commissioner and was Democratic mayor in 1876–1877.Peter LicavoliDetroit Mafia leader, Prohibition-era bootleggerSt. Louis-born gangster who ran rum-running and gambling rackets in Detroit and Toledo during Prohibition and was a founding leader of the Detroit Partnership.
Science & invention · 1876–1954Evangeline Lodge Land Lindberghchemistry teacherDetroit-born chemistry teacher at Cass Technical High School for two decades, best known as the mother of the aviator Charles Lindbergh.Seymour Lipkinpianist, conductor, educatorDetroit-born pianist who entered the Curtis Institute at eleven, toured with Jascha Heifetz at seventeen and became Leonard Bernstein's assistant conductor.Louis St. Louissongwriter, arranger, music director, singerDetroit-born Broadway arranger and songwriter who co-wrote Sandy for the film Grease, sang on its soundtrack and scored Grease 2.
Music · born 1975
MagdaDJ, producerPolish-born DJ who grew up in Hamtramck, learned techno in Detroit's record stores and raves and became a star of Richie Hawtin's Minus label.
Labor · 1901–1968Homer Martinsecond president of the United Auto Workers (1936–1939)Former Baptist preacher who led the UAW from its Detroit headquarters through the great sit-down strikes of 1936–1937, then split the union.Bruce Martynhockey radio broadcasterRadio voice of the Detroit Red Wings from 1964 to 1995, famous for his call "He shoots, he scores!"
Literature · born 1982Jamaal Maypoet, editor, teacherDetroit poet of Hum and The Big Book of Exit Strategies, who taught poetry in Detroit public schools and co-founded the small press Organic Weapon Arts.
Law · born 1943Isaiah McKinnonpolice officer, police chief, deputy mayor, professorOne of Detroit's first Black police officers, nearly killed by fellow officers during the 1967 uprising, who rose to chief of police (1993–1998) and later served as deputy mayor.
Notorious figures · 1897–1969Angelo Meliconsigliere and leader of the Detroit PartnershipSicilian-born baker and restaurateur who became a leader of Detroit's warring Mafia factions and the Detroit Partnership's first and longest-serving consigliere.
Politics · 1810–1884Hugh Moffatcarpenter-builder, lumberman, mayor of DetroitScottish-born carpenter who built Detroit's Mariners' Church, grew rich in lumber and, as 'Honest Hugh Moffat,' served as Republican mayor from 1872 to 1875.Bill Munceyunlimited hydroplane racerDetroit-area hydroplane racer, "Mr. Unlimited", who won a record 62 races and eight Gold Cups after starting out on the Detroit River.James M. Nederlandertheatrical producer, theater ownerDetroit-born head of the Nederlander Organization, which grew from a Detroit opera house lease into Broadway's second-largest theater owner; a ten-time Tony winner.Joseph Z. Nederlandertheater owner and operator, producerDetroit-born Nederlander brother who stayed home to run the family's Detroit theaters, rebuilt the Fisher Theatre in 1961 and helped open Pine Knob Music Theatre.Stanley NowakUAW organizer, Michigan state senatorPolish-American organizer who brought Detroit's Polish autoworkers into the UAW in the 1930s and served as a pro-labor Michigan state senator.
Music · born 1963Alan Oldhamtechno DJ, producer, graphic artist, painterDetroit radio host, comic artist and techno DJ known as DJ T-1000, who drew techno's early record art and toured with Underground Resistance.Omar-Selectronic producer, DJ, label ownerDetroit house and techno producer who has run the independent FXHE label since 2003 and became a mentor to younger local artists.Kevyn Orrbankruptcy lawyer, Detroit emergency managerBankruptcy lawyer appointed by Governor Rick Snyder as Detroit's emergency manager, who took the city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2013 and out of it in December 2014.
Business & brands · 1852–1929John Pridgeon Jr.shipping executive, mayor of DetroitDetroit-born son of a shipping captain who ran the family's vessels and the Detroit & Windsor Ferry and served as Democratic mayor in 1888–1889.Dick Purtanradio host, comedianDetroit morning-radio comedian for 45 years, from WKNR 'Keener 13' in 1965 to WOMC in 2010, whose on-air charity drives raised millions for the Salvation Army.Bill Rauhauserphotographer, educatorDetroit street photographer who documented the city from the 1940s onward and taught photography at the College for Creative Studies for over thirty years.
Press & broadcasting · 1926–2020Robin Seymourdisc jockey, TV dance-show hostDetroit-born DJ who pioneered rock and roll on WKMH from 1947 and hosted the TV dance shows Teen Town and Swingin' Time, a showcase for Motown and Detroit rock acts.
Law · 1922–1994Otis M. Smithlawyer, Michigan Supreme Court justice, GM general counselFirst African American justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1961–1966), who then rose to vice president and general counsel of General Motors at its Detroit headquarters.Martha Jean Steinbergradio broadcaster, station owner, minister"The Queen" of Detroit soul radio on WCHB and WJLB, who pleaded for calm on air during the 1967 uprising and later bought her own gospel station, WQBH.
Music · born 1978Jason Stollsteimersinger, guitarist, songwriter, producerSinger and main songwriter of the Von Bondies, one of the breakout bands of Detroit's early-2000s garage rock scene, known for “C'mon C'mon.”
Visual art · 1867–1961Mary Chase Perry Strattonceramic artist, founder of Pewabic PotteryCeramic artist who co-founded Pewabic Pottery in 1903, whose iridescent tiles decorate the Guardian Building, the DIA and churches across Detroit.Nolan StrongsingerHigh-tenor lead of the Diablos, Detroit's leading pre-Motown doo-wop group on Fortune Records ("The Wind"), and a key early influence on Smokey Robinson.Ron SweedTV horror host, comedian, disc jockeyCleveland's 'The Ghoul', a late-night horror-movie host whose firecrackers, Cheez Whiz and rubber frog Froggy made him a cult figure for Detroit kids on WKBD Channel 50 in the 1970s.
Labor · 1900–1967R. J. Thomasthird president of the United Auto Workers (1939–1946)Chrysler worker who rose from Detroit's assembly lines to lead the UAW through World War II, between Homer Martin and Walter Reuther.James Toccoconcert pianistDetroit-born concert pianist, the youngest of thirteen children of Sicilian immigrants, who co-founded the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Bloomfield Hills.John Toddradio and stage actorVeteran Shakespearean stage actor who voiced Tonto on WXYZ's The Lone Ranger from February 1933 to the final broadcast in 1954, and died in Detroit.
Politics · 1800–1883Charles C. Trowbridgeexplorer, ethnographer, banker, mayor of DetroitExplorer and early ethnographer of Michigan's Native peoples who became a leading Detroit banker, briefly served as mayor in 1834 and built what is likely the city's oldest surviving house.Johnny Trudelltrumpeter, flugelhornist, bandleader, composerCass Tech-trained Detroit trumpeter who organized and led Motown's brass section in the 1960s and remained a mainstay of the city's jazz scene for decades.Jaan Uhelszkimusic journalist, editorDetroit-raised co-founder of Creem and one of the first women in rock journalism, famous for performing onstage with Kiss in full makeup.
Music · born 1975Waajeedproducer, DJ, visual artistConant Gardens-raised producer and Slum Village insider who moved from J Dilla-era hip-hop to Detroit house with his Dirt Tech Reck label.
Civil rights & activism · 1912–2001Charleszetta WaddlesPentecostal minister, founder of the Mother Waddles Perpetual MissionPentecostal minister known as Mother Waddles who for more than four decades fed, clothed and trained Detroit's poor through her Perpetual Mission.
Business & brands · 1833–1891William W. Wheatonwholesale grocer, mayor of DetroitConnecticut-born wholesale grocer who was elected Detroit's mayor twice, serving 1868–1871, and later sat in the Michigan House.Washboard Willieblues washboard player, singer, bandleaderWashboard specialist who led the Super Suds of Rhythm in Detroit bars for three decades and toured Europe with fellow bluesmen in 1973.
Auto industry · 1878–1940C. Harold Willsengineer and metallurgist, chief contributor to the Model T, founder of Wills Sainte ClaireDetroit-raised toolmaker who was Henry Ford's first key engineer, shaped the Model T and its vanadium steel, and later built the Wills Sainte Claire car.Lyman Woodardjazz organist, bandleaderDetroit-based Hammond organist, Martha and the Vandellas' musical director, whose Lyman Woodard Organization made the 1975 jazz-funk cult album Saturday Night Special.Shirley Woodsonpainter, art educatorDetroit painter and teacher whose vivid figurative work on African American history spans six decades; named Kresge Eminent Artist in 2021.Kym Worthyprosecutor, judgeWayne County prosecutor since 2004, the first Black woman county prosecutor in Michigan, who charged Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2008 and led the testing of 11,000 abandoned Detroit rape kits.Richard "Popcorn" Wyliepianist, bandleader, songwriter, producerDetroit pianist whose high-school band Popcorn and the Mohawks fed Motown's studio, who played on "Shop Around" and later produced northern soul classics.Charles Gilchrist AdamsBaptist pastor and preacherDetroit-born preacher who led Hartford Memorial Baptist Church for 50 years (1969–2019) and later taught at Harvard Divinity School.Barney Alesrecord executiveDetroit-born son of a Sicilian barber who, as Motown's sales and promotion chief, got its records onto pop radio; later Motown's president.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 ↗
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