Press & broadcasting · 1829–1906Carl Schurzjournalist, Union general, statesmanGerman-born revolutionary, Union general and later U.S. senator and Interior secretary, who edited the Detroit Post in 1866–1867.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 →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
43 people
Clear filtersPress & broadcasting · 1829–1906Carl Schurzjournalist, Union general, statesmanGerman-born revolutionary, Union general and later U.S. senator and Interior secretary, who edited the Detroit Post in 1866–1867.
Literature · born 1958Mitch Albomauthor, newspaper columnist, radio host, philanthropistDetroit Free Press columnist since 1985 and author of Tuesdays with Morrie, whose charities have funded shelters, clinics and homes across Detroit.
Press & broadcasting · 1891–1979Charles CoughlinCatholic priest, radio broadcaster, political agitatorThe Royal Oak 'Radio Priest' whose 1930s broadcasts from the Shrine of the Little Flower reached tens of millions before turning to antisemitism and support for fascism.
Press & broadcasting · born 1985Rima Fakihbeauty queen, TV personalityLebanese-born Dearborn resident who became Miss USA 2010, the first Arab American woman to win the title, representing Michigan.
Press & broadcasting · born 1976Nargiz Birk-Petersenlawyer, television presenter, modelAzerbaijani-American lawyer who co-hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, after studying in Michigan and earning her law degree at Wayne State.
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.
Military · 1810–1878Alpheus S. Williamslawyer, newspaper editor, Union general, congressmanDetroit lawyer, editor and postmaster who became one of the Union's most dependable division commanders; his equestrian statue stands on Belle Isle and he is buried at Elmwood.
Civil rights & activism · born 1952Helen Ziajournalist, author, activistChinese American journalist who worked in Detroit's auto plants and, after Vincent Chin's killing in 1982, co-founded American Citizens for Justice and helped build the Asian American civil rights movement.
Literature · 1881–1959Edgar Guestpoet, newspaper columnist, radio and TV hostDetroit Free Press's 'People's Poet', who wrote some 11,000 homespun verses over six decades, syndicated nationally, and was Michigan's poet laureate.
Civil rights & activism · 1903–1942John Siegjournalist, railroad worker, resistance fighterDetroit-born son of a German mechanic who became a Berlin journalist and a core member of the anti-Nazi resistance network the Gestapo called the Red Orchestra.
Politics · 1865–1947Frank E. Doremusnewspaper editor, lawyer, congressman, mayor of DetroitSmall-town Michigan editor turned Detroit lawyer who served five terms in Congress and was mayor in 1923–1924 until ill health forced him to resign.
Press & broadcasting · 1918–2010Ernie Harwellbaseball broadcasterThe voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons, whose gentle Georgia drawl on WJR radio defined summer for generations of Michiganders.
Press & broadcasting · 1864–1949George Gough Boothnewspaper publisher, arts patronDetroit News publisher who, with his wife Ellen Scripps Booth, founded Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and championed the Arts and Crafts movement in Detroit.
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.
Press & broadcasting · 1928–2016Paul Careyradio broadcasterWJR announcer for 36 years and Ernie Harwell's longtime partner on Tigers radio, known for his deep baritone.
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.
Literature · 1849–1898Robert Reitzelwriter, editor, speakerGerman-American freethinker who published the radical literary weekly Der arme Teufel in Detroit from 1884 until his death in 1898.
Music · 1913–2005Karl Haasclassical music radio host, pianist, musicologistGerman Jewish émigré who settled in Detroit and in 1959 launched Adventures in Good Music on WJR, which became the world's most widely heard classical music radio program.
Press & broadcasting · 1819–1888John H. Harmonprinter, newspaper publisher, mayor of DetroitPrinter who came to Detroit with the 1838 Patriot raiders, rose to own the Detroit Free Press and served as Democratic mayor in 1852–1853.
Politics · 1780–1854Andrew Macksea captain, customs collector, newspaper owner, mayor of DetroitGlobe-circling sailor and Ohio businessman who became Detroit's customs collector, co-owned the early Free Press and was elected mayor in a special election in 1834.
Press & broadcasting · 1916–1974Van PatricksportscasterPlay-by-play voice of the Detroit Lions and Tigers in the 1950s and 1960s and a fixture of Detroit sports television.
Religion · 1907–1971Prophet Jonespastor, televangelist and faith healerFlamboyant preacher who founded the Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, in Detroit and became the first Black preacher in the city with a weekly TV show.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.