Auto industry · 1875–1940Walter P. Chryslerfounder of Chrysler CorporationKansas railroad mechanic who ran Buick, founded Chrysler Corporation in Detroit in 1925 and made it one of the Big Three by buying Dodge in 1928.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
- 21 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
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A–Z (family name)
15 people
Clear filtersAuto industry · 1875–1940Walter P. Chryslerfounder of Chrysler CorporationKansas railroad mechanic who ran Buick, founded Chrysler Corporation in Detroit in 1925 and made it one of the Big Three by buying Dodge in 1928.
Politics · 1813–1879Zachariah Chandlermerchant, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senatorDetroit merchant and abolitionist who backed the Underground Railroad, served as mayor in 1851 and became Michigan's Radical Republican boss in the U.S. Senate.
Business & brands · born 1963Dick Costolotechnology executive, former CEO of TwitterRoyal Oak–born University of Michigan graduate who co-founded FeedBurner and ran Twitter as CEO from 2010 to 2015.
Business & brands · 1872–1936James CouzensFord Motor Company co-founder and business manager, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senatorCanadian-born railroad clerk who became Ford's hard-driving business manager, then mayor of Detroit and a U.S. senator.
Auto industry · 1880–1936Roy D. Chapinco-founder and president of Hudson Motor Car Company, U.S. Secretary of CommerceOlds test driver who co-founded the Hudson Motor Car Company in Detroit, named it for merchant J. L. Hudson, and later served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Politics · 1893–1957Albert Cobobusinessman, city treasurer, mayor of DetroitBurroughs executive and city treasurer who as mayor (1950–1957) drove freeway building and urban renewal, blocked public housing in white neighborhoods and gave his name to Cobo Hall.
Politics · 1792–1866Levi Cookmerchant, banker, mayor of DetroitDry-goods merchant and banker who held nearly every Detroit civic office of his era, including mayor in 1832 and 1835–1836 and chief of the fire department.
Music · born 1973Monoxide Childrapper, producer, label co-founderDetroit rapper and producer, the other half of Twiztid, who rose from the city's 1990s battle scene to horrorcore stardom.
Politics · 1902–1950Frank Couzensbuilding contractor, mayor of Detroit, bankerSon of Ford partner and mayor James Couzens who was himself Detroit's mayor in the depths of the Depression (1933–1938) and later founded the Wabeek Bank.
Politics · 1798–1838Marshall Chapinphysician, pharmacist, mayor of DetroitDoctor who opened Detroit's first drugstore in 1819, served as mayor in 1831 and 1833 and was city physician during the cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1834.
Business & brands · 1855–1937Hamilton Carharttclothing manufacturer, founder of CarharttFounder of the workwear brand Carhartt, started in Detroit in 1889 to make tough overalls for railroad workers.
Business & brands · 1842–1923Marvin H. Chamberlainliquor and tobacco merchant, inventor, mayor of DetroitMichigan-born schoolteacher turned liquor and tobacco merchant, council president and Democratic mayor (1886–1887), who later ran Detroit's garbage-reduction plant.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 ↗