Civil rights & activism · 1925–1965Malcolm XMuslim minister, human rights activistMichigan-raised Muslim minister who began his Nation of Islam ministry at Detroit's Temple No. 1 in 1953 and gave some of his best-known speeches in the city.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
- 16 fields
Hungarian ties 21 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
32 people
Clear filtersCivil rights & activism · 1925–1965Malcolm XMuslim minister, human rights activistMichigan-raised Muslim minister who began his Nation of Islam ministry at Detroit's Temple No. 1 in 1953 and gave some of his best-known speeches in the city.
Auto industry · 1924–2019Lee Iacoccaautomotive executive, president of Ford, chairman of ChryslerSalesman-engineer who launched the Ford Mustang, was fired by Henry Ford II, then saved Chrysler with federal loan guarantees, K-cars and the minivan.
Music · 1924–1963Dinah Washingtonsinger, pianistThe “Queen of the Blues,” one of the top-selling Black singers of the 1950s, who married Detroit Lions star Dick “Night Train” Lane and died at their Detroit home in 1963.
Science & invention · 1923–2015Carl Djerassichemist, novelist, playwrightChemist known as a father of the birth-control pill, who taught at Wayne State University in Detroit through most of the 1950s and later wrote plays and novels.
Architecture & design · 1925–2017Gunnar BirkertsarchitectLatvian-American modernist who worked for Saarinen and Yamasaki and ran his own firm from Birmingham, Michigan, for four decades.
Science & invention · 1922–2012Stanford R. Ovshinskyinventor, physicist, entrepreneurSelf-taught inventor of the nickel-metal hydride battery and thin-film solar panels, who built his company Energy Conversion Devices in Detroit and Troy over half a century.
Comedy · 1926–2009Soupy Salescomedian, television hostPie-throwing comic whose Lunch with Soupy Sales on Detroit's WXYZ-TV (1953–1960) made him a local legend before he went national.
Sports · 1927–2016Bill Gadsbyice hockey defenseman and coachHall of Fame defenseman who finished his career with the Red Wings, briefly coached them and spent the rest of his life in metro Detroit.
Sports · 1928–2002Dick "Night Train" LaneAmerican football cornerback, youth-sports directorHall of Fame cornerback, one of the fiercest tacklers in NFL history, who played for the Lions and then ran Detroit's Police Athletic League for 17 years.
Music · 1923–2011Eddie Kirklandblues guitarist, harmonica player, singerJamaica-born, Alabama-raised bluesman who met John Lee Hooker at Detroit house parties while working at Ford's Rouge plant and toured with him from 1949 to 1962.
Press & broadcasting · 1928–2016Paul Careyradio broadcasterWJR announcer for 36 years and Ernie Harwell's longtime partner on Tigers radio, known for his deep baritone.
Civil rights & activism · 1920–2002Lily Chincivil rights activistChinese immigrant mother of Vincent Chin who, after his 1982 killing, became the moral voice of the national campaign for justice that launched the Asian American civil rights movement.
Visual art · 1926–2013Balthazar Korabarchitectural photographer, architectHungarian-born architect-photographer who joined Eero Saarinen's Michigan office in 1955 and became one of America's leading architectural photographers from his Detroit-area base.
Law · 1920–1987Wade H. McCreejudge, U.S. solicitor general, law professorHarvard-trained lawyer who made his career in Detroit, becoming the first Black judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Sixth Circuit, then U.S. solicitor general.
Politics · 1925–2006Maryann Mahaffeysocial work professor, city council presidentWayne State social work professor and democratic socialist who served on the Detroit City Council for 32 years (1974–2005), twice as its president, championing women's rights and the poor.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.