Religion · 1920–2004James Aloysius HickeyCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of WashingtonMichigan-born cardinal who trained for the priesthood at Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary before leading the Archdiocese of Washington for twenty years.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.
- 664 famous people
- 66 Detroit places
- 7 fields
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
8 people
Clear filtersReligion · 1920–2004James Aloysius HickeyCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of WashingtonMichigan-born cardinal who trained for the priesthood at Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary before leading the Archdiocese of Washington for twenty years.
Visual art · 1925–1996Duane HansonsculptorAmerican hyperrealist sculptor of lifelike ordinary people, who earned his MFA at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills.
Music · 1945–2011Gladys HortonsingerFounder and original lead singer of the Marvelettes from Inkster, whose "Please Mr. Postman" was Motown's first No. 1 pop hit.
Music · born 1942Wendell Harrisonjazz saxophonist, clarinetist, label founder, educatorDetroit saxophonist and clarinetist who co-founded Tribe, the 1970s Black-consciousness jazz label and magazine, and later the Rebirth education organization.
Politics · born 1990Abdullah Hammoudpolitician, mayor of DearbornDearborn-born son of Lebanese immigrants who in 2022 became the city's first Arab American and first Muslim mayor, in the hometown of Henry Ford.
Labor · born 1941James P. HoffaTeamsters General President (1999–2022), labor lawyerDetroit-born son of Jimmy Hoffa who practiced labor law in the city and led the Teamsters for five terms, from 1999 to 2022.
Music · 1939–2007Billy Hendersonsinger, dancerFounding member of the Spinners, raised in Royal Oak Township, who was the group's leading dancer for half a century.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.