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
270 Detroit places
20 fields

Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →

4 people

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Military · 1920–1945Eddie SlovikU.S. Army privateDetroit-born private who became the only American soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War; his remains were brought home to Woodmere Cemetery in 1987.Born hereGrew up here

Sports · 1929–2005Eddie Crook Jr.boxer, army officerDetroit-born army boxer who won Olympic gold in the middleweight division at the 1960 Rome Games, as a teammate of Muhammad Ali.Born hereGrew up here

Military · 1928–1958Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr.test pilot, Air Force officerKorean War ace and test pilot called 'the First Spaceman' after flying the Bell X-2 to a record altitude in 1956; born in Detroit.Born here

Military · 1921–2022Alexander JeffersonTuskegee Airman, prisoner of war, teacherDetroit-born Tuskegee Airman who was shot down over France in 1944, survived a German POW camp, then taught science in Detroit public schools for decades; he lived to 100.Born hereGrew up here

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 ↗

Famous Detroiters

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