City history · 1902–1974
Charles Lindberghaviator, military officer, authorThe pilot of the first solo nonstop New York–Paris flight (1927) was born in his grandfather's house on West Forest Avenue; his mother was a Detroit chemistry teacher.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
- 19 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
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73 people · 1/2 page
Clear filtersCity history · 1902–1974Charles Lindberghaviator, military officer, authorThe pilot of the first solo nonstop New York–Paris flight (1927) was born in his grandfather's house on West Forest Avenue; his mother was a Detroit chemistry teacher.
Politics · 1904–1971Ralph Bunchediplomat, political scientistThe first Black Nobel laureate (Peace, 1950) was born in Detroit's Delray neighborhood and spent most of his early childhood in the city.
Music · 1903–1931Bix Beiderbeckejazz cornetist, pianist, composerLegendary 1920s cornetist who played in Jean Goldkette's Detroit-based orchestra, headlining at the Graystone Ballroom in 1926–1927 before his greatest recordings.
Literature · 1909–1981Nelson Algrennovelist, short-story writerDetroit-born author of The Man with the Golden Arm, the first National Book Award winner for fiction, who became the great chronicler of Chicago's down-and-out.
Music · 1902–1988Son Houseblues singer, slide guitaristDelta blues master who shaped Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, spent his last years in Detroit and is buried at Mount Hazel Cemetery under a monument paid for by local fans.
Visual art · 1904–1988
Isamu Noguchisculptor, landscape architect, designerJapanese-American sculptor who shaped Hart Plaza on Detroit's riverfront and created its Dodge Fountain and 120-foot Pylon.Douglas McGregormanagement theorist, psychologistManagement theorist of Theory X and Theory Y, born in Detroit into the family that ran the McGregor Institute, a mission for homeless men, and a graduate of today's Wayne State.
Politics · 1907–1995George W. Romneyautomobile executive, governor of MichiganDetroit auto-industry spokesman and American Motors chief who became Michigan's governor (1963–1969) and later U.S. housing secretary.Eddie Tolansprinter, track and field athleteCass Tech-raised sprinter nicknamed the 'Midnight Express' who won double gold in the 100 and 200 meters at the 1932 Olympics, becoming the first Black man to be named the world's fastest human.
Film & TV · 1902–1992George Murphyactor, dancer, U.S. senatorSong-and-dance star of 1930s–40s Hollywood musicals and U.S. senator from California, who spent part of his boyhood in Detroit.
Labor · 1907–1970Walter Reutherpresident of the United Auto Workers (1946–1970)Tool-and-die maker who became the UAW's longest-serving president, building one of America's most powerful and progressive unions from Detroit.
Music · 1906–1988
Antal Doráticonductor, composerBudapest-born conductor and pupil of Bartók and Kodály who led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1981 and put it back on the world's record shelves.
Architecture & design · 1907–1978Charles Eamesdesigner, architect, filmmakerAmerican designer who came to Cranbrook in 1938, began his furniture experiments there with Eero Saarinen and met his partner Ray Kaiser.Ed Gordonathletics competitor, later science teacher1932 Olympic long jump gold medalist who settled in Detroit later in life, earned a delayed college degree at Wayne State University, and taught science there until his death.
Science & invention · 1903–1981Rensis Likertsocial psychologistPsychologist behind the Likert scale and founder of the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor.
Science & invention · 1907–1988Seth NeddermeyerphysicistCo-discoverer of the muon and champion of the implosion design for the atomic bomb, born in Richmond, Michigan, in northern Macomb County.Margaret Woodbridgecompetition swimmerDetroit-born Olympic gold medalist who swam for the Detroit Athletic Club and was a member of the first-ever U.S. women's Olympic swim team in 1920.Sam Balterbasketball player and sportscasterDetroit-born guard who won the first Olympic gold medal in basketball history at the 1936 Berlin Games and later became a noted sportscaster.Clarence PinkstonOlympic diver and diving coachTwo-time Olympic diving gold medalist who spent nearly three decades as aquatics director and diving coach at the Detroit Athletic Club, training national and Olympic champions.
Auto industry · 1903–1956Preston Tuckerautomobile entrepreneur and designerLincoln Park–raised car dreamer behind the futuristic Tucker 48, whose story became the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream.
Military · 1908–1987Edward LansdaleU.S. Air Force general, CIA officerDetroit-born Air Force officer and CIA operative who pioneered psychological warfare in the Philippines and South Vietnam in the 1950s.Robert John Braidwoodarchaeologist, anthropologistPioneer of scientific archaeology who searched for the origins of farming in the Near East, born in Detroit and trained at the University of Michigan.John DeardenCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of DetroitArchbishop of Detroit for 21 years who brought the Second Vatican Council's reforms home and pressed the church to confront racial injustice.
Film & TV · 1903–1954Tom Tylerfilm actor, weightlifterHamtramck-raised B-Western star and screen Captain Marvel, who came home to Hamtramck to die and is buried in Detroit's Mount Olivet Cemetery.Alexander H. SmithmycologistLeading American mushroom expert who spent his entire career at the University of Michigan Herbarium and wrote popular guides to Michigan's mushrooms.
Film & TV · 1900–1988Julanne Johnstonsilent film actress, dancerSilent-screen actress, the princess opposite Douglas Fairbanks in The Thief of Bagdad, who left Hollywood, married and lived out her life in Detroit and Grosse Pointe.Don Redmanarranger, composer, saxophonist, bandleaderPioneering swing arranger who left Fletcher Henderson in 1927 to lead McKinney's Cotton Pickers in Detroit, turning the Graystone house band into a national star.
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 · 1909–1995Josef Gingoldviolinist, teacherViolinist and legendary teacher who was concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony in the mid-1940s, between Toscanini's NBC Symphony and George Szell's Cleveland Orchestra.
Business & brands · 1901–1996
Alex Manoogianindustrial engineer, businessman, philanthropistArmenian-born engineer who came to Detroit in 1924, founded Masco, introduced the Delta washerless faucet, and donated the Manoogian Mansion, the official home of Detroit's mayors.Alfred H. Barr Jr.art historian, museum directorDetroit-born art historian who became the first director of New York's Museum of Modern Art and shaped how the world sees modern art.
Sports · 1903–1962Mickey Cochranebaseball catcher and managerHall of Fame catcher who, as player-manager, led the Tigers to pennants in 1934 and 1935 and Detroit's first World Series title.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.
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.
Sports · 1900–1971Goose Goslinbaseball player, left fielderHall of Fame left fielder whose ninth-inning single won the 1935 World Series, Detroit's first championship.Big Maceo Merriweatherblues pianist, singerGeorgia-born blues pianist who learned his trade in Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s, wrote "Worried Life Blues" and was buried in metro Detroit.
Sports · 1906–1978Dutch ClarkAmerican football quarterback and coachStar of the first Detroit Lions teams, who led them to the 1935 NFL championship; the Lions retired his No. 7 first of all their numbers.
Architecture & design · 1907–1993Alexander Girardarchitect, interior and textile designerModernist designer who worked from Detroit and Grosse Pointe for sixteen years before becoming Herman Miller's famed textile director.
Press & broadcasting · 1908–1997Bill Kennedyactor, television movie hostFormer Warner Bros. actor who for 27 years hosted old movies for Detroit viewers on CKLW-TV and WKBD, famous for his sardonic Hollywood stories.
Civil rights & activism · 1903–1942
John 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.Werner Emmanuel Bachmannorganic chemistDetroit-born chemist who achieved the first total synthesis of a steroid hormone and devised a wartime process for mass-producing the explosive RDX.
Politics · 1903–1961George G. Sadowskilawyer, politicianDetroit-born son of a Polish-American family who went from the city's east-side schools to the Michigan Senate and three terms in Congress in the 1930s.Mary V. Becklawyer, politicianUkrainian-American lawyer of Lemko descent who in 1949 became the first woman elected to Detroit's city council and later served as its president and as acting mayor.
Sports · 1906–1968Tommy Bridgesbaseball pitcherCurveball pitcher who spent his entire career with the Tigers (1930–1946) and won two games in the 1935 World Series.
Law · 1909–1997George W. Crockett Jr.civil rights lawyer, judge, congressmanRadical civil rights lawyer who co-founded one of the first integrated law firms in Detroit, became a storied Recorder's Court judge after the 1969 New Bethel incident and then served in Congress (1980–1991).
Business & brands · 1908–2005Max Fisherbusinessman, philanthropist, presidential adviserOil businessman who came to Detroit in 1930, built Aurora Gasoline and Speedway, led the city's Jewish community and civic renewal efforts, and gave his name to the Detroit Symphony's music center.
Visual art · 1905–2000Todd WebbphotographerDetroit-born documentary photographer of New York, Paris and the American West, who learned his craft at the Detroit Camera Club while working for Chrysler.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 ↗