Joe Girardcar salesman, author and motivational speakerDetroit east-sider who sold 13,001 Chevrolets at an Eastpointe dealership and holds the Guinness record as the world's greatest car salesman.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
- 515 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
367 people · 3/8 page
Clear filtersJoe Girardcar salesman, author and motivational speakerDetroit east-sider who sold 13,001 Chevrolets at an Eastpointe dealership and holds the Guinness record as the world's greatest car salesman.
Sports · 1886–1983Jam HandyOlympic swimmer and water polo player, industrial filmmakerTwo-time Olympic bronze medalist who built the Jam Handy Organization in Detroit into one of America's largest producers of industrial and training films.
Music · 1918–1979Eddie Jeffersonjazz singer, lyricistPioneer of vocalese, the art of setting lyrics to jazz solos, who was shot and killed outside Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in 1979.
Film & TV · 1896–1975Cullen Landissilent-film actor, director of industrial filmsSilent-film leading man who starred in the first all-talking feature (1928), then moved to Detroit in 1930 to direct industrial films, joining the Jam Handy studio in 1937.
Science & invention · 1927–2005Emmett Leithelectrical engineer, physicistDetroit-born co-inventor of three-dimensional laser holography, who studied at Wayne State and did his pioneering work at the University of Michigan's Willow Run Laboratories.
Science & invention · 1919–2011Mildred Rebstockpharmaceutical chemistParke-Davis research chemist in Detroit who led the first complete synthesis of an antibiotic, chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin), in 1947.
Music · 1898–1986Sippie Wallaceblues singer, pianist, songwriter, church organist1920s classic-blues star who moved to Detroit in 1929, served a Detroit church as organist for some 40 years, and returned to the stage in the 1960s.
Politics · 1939–2021Barbara-Rose Collinspolitician, activistDetroit-born single mother turned activist who rose from the school board and City Council to become the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress (1991–1997).
Politics · 1870–1929Edwin Denbylawyer, congressman, secretary of the NavyDetroit lawyer, congressman and Marine volunteer who became Harding's secretary of the Navy and resigned over the Teapot Dome scandal; Denby High School on the east side bears his name.
Religion · 1930–2024Thomas GumbletonCatholic auxiliary bishop, peace and social justice activistDetroit-born auxiliary bishop (1968–2006) and nationally known peace activist who spent decades as pastor of St. Leo's, a poor inner-city parish.
Politics · 1805–1871Jacob M. Howardlawyer, U.S. senatorDetroit lawyer and Republican Party co-founder who as U.S. senator helped shape the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, including the citizenship clause.Kurt Luedtkejournalist, screenwriterDetroit Free Press executive editor turned Oscar-winning screenwriter of Out of Africa, who wrote Absence of Malice from his newsroom experience.
Politics · 1807–1880Robert McClellandlawyer, governor of Michigan, U.S. secretary of the interiorMonroe lawyer and Democratic governor (1852–1853) who served as President Pierce's interior secretary and spent his last 23 years practicing law in Detroit; he is buried at Elmwood.
Politics · 1864–1945Truman Handy Newberryindustrialist, secretary of the Navy, U.S. senatorDetroit-born industrialist and Packard co-founder who was secretary of the Navy (1908–1909) and beat Henry Ford for the U.S. Senate in 1918 in a race that ended in a spending scandal.Jack Scottsinger, songwriterRockabilly and ballad singer of “My True Love” and “What in the World's Come Over You,” who grew up in Hazel Park and lived in the Detroit suburbs all his life.
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.
Music · 1944–1991Rob TynersingerDetroit-born lead singer of the MC5, whose incendiary live album Kick Out the Jams was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in October 1968.
Politics · 1814–1892Henry P. Baldwinshoe merchant, banker, governor of Michigan, U.S. senatorDetroit boot and shoe wholesaler and banker who built St. John's Episcopal Church on Woodward, served as governor (1869–1873) and gave Hazen Pingree his first Detroit job.
Music · 1938–2005Roy Brooksjazz drummer, percussionist, bandleaderDetroit drummer who played on Horace Silver's Song for My Father, joined Max Roach's M'Boom, and after returning home in 1975 became a pillar and teacher of the city's jazz scene.BugzrapperFounding member of D12, a gifted Detroit freestyler who was shot and killed in 1999, just before the group's breakthrough.Solanus CaseyCapuchin friar and priest, beatifiedCapuchin friar revered as a healer and counselor at Detroit's St. Bonaventure Monastery, co-founder of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, beatified at Ford Field in 2017.
Business & brands · 1872–1936James CouzensFord Motor Company co-founder and business manager, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senatorCanadian-born railroad clerk who became Ford's hard-driving business manager, then mayor of Detroit and a U.S. senator.
Sports · 1957–2024Earl Curetonbasketball forward and centerDetroit native who played for the University of Detroit and his hometown Pistons and won NBA titles with Philadelphia and Houston.Virgil Exnerautomotive designer, creator of Chrysler's Forward LookAnn Arbor–born designer whose Forward Look gave Chrysler its soaring 1955–1963 tailfin cars and set off a styling race with GM.
Sports · 1903–1993Charlie Gehringerbaseball player, second basemanMichigan-born Hall of Fame second baseman who played his whole 19-year career with the Tigers; his No. 2 is retired and his statue stands at Comerica Park.
Sports · 1894–1951Harry Heilmannbaseball player, radio announcerFour-time batting champion for the Tigers who hit .403 in 1923, then became the team's beloved radio voice from 1934 to 1950.Earle S. MacPhersonautomotive engineer, inventor of the MacPherson strutGM and Ford engineer whose MacPherson strut suspension, developed in Detroit in the 1940s, is now used on most of the world's cars.
Science & invention · 1844–1929
Elijah 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.
Sports · 1921–1998Hal Newhouserbaseball pitcherDetroit-born left-hander who won back-to-back MVP awards for his hometown Tigers in 1944 and 1945; his No. 16 is retired and his statue stands at Comerica Park.
Music · 1940–2013Bobby Rogerssinger, songwriterDetroit-born founding member of the Miracles (1956–2013) who co-wrote the Temptations' first hit, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".Lightnin' Slimblues singer, guitaristLouisiana swamp-blues star of Excello Records who later worked in a Pontiac foundry, was rediscovered there in 1970, and died in Detroit in 1974.
Sports · 1860–1922Sam Thompsonbaseball player, right fielderHall of Fame slugger of the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines who later settled in Detroit, played briefly for the Tigers at 46 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Politics · 1911–1988G. Mennen Williamsgovernor of Michigan, diplomat, chief justiceDetroit-born heir to the Mennen toiletries fortune ('Soapy') who as six-term governor (1949–1961) forged Michigan's Democratic alliance of labor, Black voters and liberals.
Politics · 1918–1997Coleman Younglabor organizer, state senator, mayor of DetroitDetroit's first Black mayor (1974–1994), a Tuskegee Airman and fiery labor radical who reshaped the city with the Renaissance Center, the People Mover and new auto plants.
Zora Arkus-Duntovautomotive engineer, Corvette chief engineerBelgian-born, Russian-raised engineer who came to Detroit in 1953 and turned the Corvette into a genuine performance car.
Music · 1935–2012Johnnie Bassettblues guitarist, singer, songwriterDetroit-raised blues guitarist who played on Fortune Records sessions in the 1950s and, late in life, became the city's elder statesman of jump blues.Joe C.rapper, hype manDownriver rapper, 3 feet 9 inches tall because of celiac disease, who became Kid Rock's beloved on-stage partner at the height of his fame.
Auto industry · 1880–1936Roy D. Chapinco-founder and president of Hudson Motor Car Company, U.S. Secretary of CommerceOlds test driver who co-founded the Hudson Motor Car Company in Detroit, named it for merchant J. L. Hudson, and later served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.Bill Davidsonglass industrialist, owner of the Detroit PistonsDetroit-born glass magnate who owned the Pistons for 35 years, built the Palace of Auburn Hills with private money and won three NBA titles.
Law · 1846–1917Donald M. Dickinsonlawyer, U.S. postmaster generalLeading Detroit trial lawyer and Democratic organizer who served as Grover Cleveland's postmaster general (1888–1889); Dickinson County in the Upper Peninsula is named for him.Ruth Ellisprinter, LGBTQ rights activistBlack lesbian printer whose West Side Detroit home was a refuge for Black gay and lesbian Detroiters for decades; she lived to 101, and the Ruth Ellis Center for LGBTQ youth bears her name.
Law · 1889–1982Homer S. Fergusonjudge, U.S. senator, diplomatDetroit lawyer and Wayne County circuit judge whose one-man grand jury exposed city corruption (1939–1941), launching him into the U.S. Senate (1943–1955).
Auto industry · 1881–1955
József Galambmechanical engineer, chief designer of the Ford Model THungarian engineer from Makó who became Ford's chief designer and drew up much of the Model T at the Piquette Avenue Plant.
Music · 1917–1988J. C. Heardjazz drummer, bandleaderDetroit-raised swing and bop drummer who played with Teddy Wilson, Cab Calloway and Jazz at the Philharmonic, then returned to Detroit in 1966 as a bandleader and mentor.
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.Sonny Redjazz alto saxophonist, flutist, composerDetroit alto saxophonist who began with Barry Harris as a teenager and recorded hard bop for Blue Note, Jazzland and Donald Byrd before dying in his hometown at 48.
Politics · 1780–1861William Woodbridgeterritorial secretary, governor of Michigan, U.S. senatorLewis Cass's lifelong friend who came to Detroit in 1814 as territorial secretary and became Michigan's second governor; his farm became the site of Tiger Stadium, and the Woodbridge neighborhood bears his name.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 ↗