Law · 1857–1938Clarence Darrowdefense attorneyFamed Chicago defense lawyer who came to Detroit in 1925 to defend Dr. Ossian Sweet and ten others, winning a landmark civil rights case.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.
- 1,912 famous people
- 135 Detroit places
- 14 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
16 people
Clear filtersLaw · 1857–1938Clarence Darrowdefense attorneyFamed Chicago defense lawyer who came to Detroit in 1925 to defend Dr. Ossian Sweet and ten others, winning a landmark civil rights case.
Auto industry · 1861–1947William C. Durantfounder of General Motors, co-founder of ChevroletFlint carriage king who founded General Motors, co-founded Chevrolet in Detroit and ordered the giant GM headquarters on West Grand Boulevard.
Visual art · 1821–1872Robert S. Duncansonlandscape and portrait painterThe first internationally known African American painter; he grew up in Monroe, Michigan, painted portraits in Detroit in the 1840s and died here in 1872.
Auto industry · 1868–1920Horace Dodgemachinist, automobile manufacturer, co-founder of Dodge BrothersThe engineering half of the Dodge Brothers, who supplied Ford's first engines, built Dodge Main in Hamtramck and helped create Orchestra Hall.
Auto industry · 1864–1920John Dodgemachinist, automobile manufacturer, co-founder of Dodge BrothersThe business mind of the Dodge Brothers, who turned a Detroit machine shop into one of America's biggest automakers.
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.
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.
Politics · 1894–1955John Dingell Sr.printer, labor organizer, congressmanSon of Polish immigrants from Detroit who went from Free Press printer to New Deal congressman (1933–1955), founding a father-and-son dynasty that held the seat for 82 years.
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.
Science & invention · 1846–1892Charles Van Depoeleinventor, electrical engineerFlemish-born craftsman who made church furniture in Detroit in the 1870s while experimenting with electric light, then became a pioneer of the electric streetcar and inventor of the trolley pole.
Politics · 1894–1967Charles Diggs Sr.funeral director, state senatorMississippi-born Detroit funeral-home owner and Garveyite who became the first African American Democrat in the Michigan Senate (1937–1944) and wrote the state's civil rights law.
Business & brands · 1866–1970Anna Thompson Dodgephilanthropist, heiress of Dodge BrothersScottish-born widow of Horace Dodge, one of the richest women in the world, who backed the DSO and paid for the Dodge fountain in Hart Plaza.
Politics · 1820–1877William C. Duncanbrewer, mayor of Detroit, state senatorGreat Lakes steamer steward turned Detroit brewer who was the first president of the city council and mayor during the Civil War years of 1862–1863.
Politics · 1813–1855James A. Van Dykelawyer, fire chief, mayor of DetroitEloquent Whig lawyer and fire-department president who was Detroit's 21st mayor (1847) and later the Michigan Central Railroad's attorney.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 ↗