Architecture & design · 1910–1961Eero Saarinenarchitect, industrial designerFinnish-American architect who grew up at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and ran his office there; his first masterpiece was the GM Technical Center in Warren.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
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
28 people
Clear filtersArchitecture & design · 1910–1961Eero Saarinenarchitect, industrial designerFinnish-American architect who grew up at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and ran his office there; his first masterpiece was the GM Technical Center in Warren.
Architecture & design · 1873–1950Eliel Saarinenarchitect, urban plannerFinnish architect who designed the Cranbrook campus in Bloomfield Hills and led the Cranbrook Academy of Art, making metro Detroit a center of modern design.
Theatre & dance · 1925–2014Elaine Stritchactress, singer, comedianBroadway's tough, funny star of Company and At Liberty was born in Detroit, and after six decades in New York came home to Birmingham, Michigan, to spend her last year.
Sports · 1930–2010Clarke Scholescompetitive swimmer, Olympic championDetroit-born and Redford High School-raised swimmer who won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Sports · 1924–2016Norbert SchemanskyweightlifterDetroit-born weightlifter, the first to win four Olympic medals in the sport, who lived most of his life in nearby Dearborn, where a park is named for him.
Music · 1936–2008Levi Stubbssinger, voice actorLifelong Detroiter and lead voice of the Four Tops, formed with Pershing High School friends, who sang “Reach Out I'll Be There” and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Literature · 1941–2024John Sinclairpoet, activist, music manager, radio hostJazz poet, MC5 manager and White Panther co-founder who helped build Detroit's 1960s Cass Corridor counterculture and died in the city in 2024.
Sports · 1908–1963Horton Smithprofessional golferWinner of the first Masters Tournament in 1934 and again in 1936, who was head professional at the Detroit Golf Club from 1946 until his death.
Music · 1948–1994Fred "Sonic" Smithguitarist, songwriterMC5 guitarist who led Sonic's Rendezvous Band, met Patti Smith at Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island in 1976, and spent his life in metro Detroit.
Visual art · 1814–1872John Mix Stanleypainter, artist-explorerPainter of the American West and Native American life who began his career in frontier Detroit and returned to spend his last years there.
Sports · 1946–2015Charlie SandersAmerican football tight end, broadcaster, scoutHall of Fame tight end who played his whole career with the Lions (1968–1977) and served the franchise for decades afterward as broadcaster, coach and scout.
Press & broadcasting · 1835–1906James E. Scrippsnewspaper publisher, founder of The Detroit News, art patronLondon-born publisher who founded The Evening News (today's Detroit News) in 1873 and helped create the Detroit Museum of Art, forerunner of the DIA.
Politics · 1769–1846Solomon Sibleylawyer, first mayor of Detroit, territorial judgePioneer lawyer who arrived in 1797, wrote Detroit's first city charter and in 1806 became its first mayor, later serving as territorial delegate and chief justice.
Politics · 1882–1942John W. Smithpipefitter, postmaster, mayor of DetroitFormer newsboy and pipefitter who rose to postmaster and mayor, defeating a Klan-backed write-in candidate in 1924 and serving twice (1924–1928 and 1933).
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.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 ↗