Politics · 1939–2021Barbara-Rose Collinspolitician, activistDetroit-born single mother turned activist who rose from the school board and City Council to become the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress (1991–1997).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
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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213 people · 3/5 page
Clear filtersPolitics · 1939–2021Barbara-Rose Collinspolitician, activistDetroit-born single mother turned activist who rose from the school board and City Council to become the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress (1991–1997).
Visual art · 1938–2008Robert GrahamsculptorMexican-born American sculptor who created the Monument to Joe Louis, the giant bronze fist at Woodward and Jefferson known simply as The Fist.
Religion · 1930–2024Thomas GumbletonCatholic auxiliary bishop, peace and social justice activistDetroit-born auxiliary bishop (1968–2006) and nationally known peace activist who spent decades as pastor of St. Leo's, a poor inner-city parish.
Music · 1930–2009Eddie Lockejazz drummerDetroit-born drummer of the Bop & Locke act who became Coleman Hawkins's and Roy Eldridge's drummer and appears in the photograph A Great Day in Harlem.
Music · 1938–2005Roy Brooksjazz drummer, percussionist, bandleaderDetroit drummer who played on Horace Silver's Song for My Father, joined Max Roach's M'Boom, and after returning home in 1975 became a pillar and teacher of the city's jazz scene.
Music · born 1934Roger ReynoldscomposerDetroit-born composer, trained first as an engineer, who pioneered computer and spatial music and won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Whispers Out of Time.
Music · 1935–2012Johnnie Bassettblues guitarist, singer, songwriterDetroit-raised blues guitarist who played on Fortune Records sessions in the 1950s and, late in life, became the city's elder statesman of jump blues.
Music · 1931–1991James Clevelandgospel singer, composer, arranger, choir directorChicago gospel giant who worked at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church under Rev. C. L. Franklin and founded the Gospel Music Workshop of America after a Detroit Sing-A-Rama.
Sports · 1932–2024Joe SchmidtAmerican football linebacker and coachHall of Fame middle linebacker who spent his whole 13-year career with the Lions, won two NFL titles, coached the team and then worked in Detroit's auto industry.
Music · born 1934George Shirleyoperatic tenor, music educatorDetroit-raised tenor who became the first African American tenor to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and the first Black music teacher in Detroit's high schools.
Music · 1936–2015Marcus Belgravejazz trumpeter, educatorTrumpeter who left Ray Charles's band for Detroit in 1963 to record at Motown and became the city's great jazz teacher, mentoring a generation of Detroit stars.
Music · 1935–2024Abdul "Duke" FakirsingerDetroit-born co-founder and last original member of the Four Tops, who sang with the group from 1953 until weeks before his death in 2024.
Music · 1937–2005Ruth Laredoclassical pianistDetroit-born pianist, 'America's First Lady of the Piano', who made the first complete recording of Scriabin's ten sonatas after hearing Horowitz play Scriabin in Detroit as a child.
Literature · born 1939Thomas McGuanenovelist, short-story writer, screenwriterWyandotte-born novelist of Ninety-Two in the Shade who grew up downriver from Detroit and attended Cranbrook before becoming a chronicler of the American West.
Music · 1937–2012Bob BabbittbassistPittsburgh-born Funk Brothers bassist (1966–1972) who shared sessions with James Jamerson and played on "War", "Band of Gold" and "Inner City Blues".
Music · 1936–2005Renaldo "Obie" Bensonbass singer, songwriterDetroit-born bass singer of the Four Tops who wrote the first draft of "What's Going On" and persuaded Marvin Gaye to record it.
Sports · 1933–1986Norm Cashbaseball player, first basemanFun-loving Tigers first baseman of 1960–1974 who won the 1961 batting title and was the first Tiger to hit a ball over Tiger Stadium's right-field roof.
Music · 1938–2017Pete Moorebass singer, songwriter, vocal arranger, producerDetroit-born bass singer and uncredited vocal arranger of the Miracles, co-writer of "The Tracks of My Tears", "Ooo Baby Baby" and "Love Machine".
Music · born 1938Sugar Chile Robinsonjazz and boogie-woogie pianist, singerDetroit child prodigy who won a Paradise Theatre talent show at three, played for President Truman in 1946, then quit music for college and a Detroit career.
Press & broadcasting · born 1939Dick Vitalebasketball coach, broadcasterESPN's famous college basketball voice, who first made his name coaching the University of Detroit Titans and then, briefly, the Pistons.
Music · 1936–2019Andre Williamssinger, songwriter, producerR&B showman who started at Detroit's Fortune Records with "Bacon Fat" (1957) and co-wrote "Shake a Tail Feather".
Music · 1934–2009Uriel JonesdrummerFunk Brothers drummer who played on "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "The Tracks of My Tears".
Sports · 1930–2017Yale LaryAmerican football safety, punter and return specialistHall of Fame safety and one of the greatest punters in NFL history, who played eleven seasons for the Lions and won three championships.
Music · born 1937Kirk Lightseyjazz pianist, flutistDetroit-born pianist who accompanied singers in Detroit and California in the 1960s, toured with Dexter Gordon, played in The Leaders and has lived in Paris since 2000.
Music · 1932–2015Joseph Silversteinviolinist, conductorDetroit-born violinist, the son of a Detroit school music teacher, who was concertmaster of the Boston Symphony for 22 years and music director of the Utah Symphony.
Law · 1932–2017Anna Diggs Taylorfederal judge, civil rights lawyerYale-trained lawyer who built her career in Detroit and in 1979 became Michigan's first Black woman federal judge; in 2006 she struck down the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program.
Music · 1938–1995Ronnie Whitesinger, songwriterDetroit-born co-founder of the Miracles who co-wrote "My Girl" and brought the young Stevie Wonder to Motown's attention.
Music · 1936–2018Eddie WillisguitaristFunk Brothers guitarist, raised in Detroit from age 14, whose muted "chank" rhythm guitar colors Motown hits from "Please Mr. Postman" to "I Was Made to Love Her".
Music · born 1934Jack Ashfordpercussionist, vibraphonist, producerFunk Brothers percussionist whose tambourine is on hundreds of Motown records, from "Nowhere to Run" to "War"; the last surviving Funk Brother.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 ↗