Famous People from Michigan

• Tim Allen (1953 - ) Actor, famous for the T.V. series Home Improvement; grew up in Birmingham.
• Chris Van Allsburg (1949 - ) Writer of children’s books who won Caldecott Awards for drawings in The Polar Express and Jumanji; born in Grand Rapids.
• Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1658 - 1730), French colonial administrator, founder of Detroit (1701).
• Lewis Cass (1782 - 1866), Michigan territorial governor (1813 - 1831), U. S. senator from Michigan (1845 - 1857), U. S. cabinet officer, and Democratic candidate (1848) for the U. S . presidency.
• Walter P. Chrysler (1875 - 1940) Industrialist who established the Chrysler Corporation.
• Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958 - ) Singer with hit singles “Material Girl,” and “Vogue.”  She has also acted in such movies as A League of Their Own, and Evita; born in Bay City.
• Ty Cobb (1886 - 1961) Baseball star, played 22 seasons (1905 - 1926) for the Detroit Tigers.
• Francis Ford Coppola (1939 - ) Writer, producer, and director, most famous for The Godfather; born in Detroit.
• George Armstrong Custer (1839 - 1876) Commander of Michigan's cavalry brigade in the Civil War, later killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931) Inventor; lived in Port Huron.
• Gerald R. Ford (1913 - ) Became the 38^th President of the United States when Richard Nixon resigned; grew up in Grand Rapids.
• Henry Ford (1863 - 1947) Founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903; from Dearborn.

• Daniel Gerber (1898 - 1974) Developed canned baby food in 1927.  

• Earvin “Magic” Johnson (1959 - ) Basketball star that led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s; retired in 1991 after announcing he had the AIDS virus and now works to educate people about the disease; from Lansing.
• John Harvey Kellogg (1852 - 1943) & William Keith Kellogg (1860 - 1951) Invented corn flakes and founded the Kellogg Company in 1906; brothers from Battle Creek.

• Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) The first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean; born in Detroit.

• Joe Louis (1914 - 1981) World heavyweight boxing champion (1937 - 1949); lived in Detroit.

• Walter Reuther (1907 - 1970) Labor leader, president of the United Automobile Workers (1946 - 1970). 

• “Sugar” Ray Robinson (1921 - 1989) Boxing Champion often called the best fighter in the history of boxing; from Detroit.

More Famous People of Michigan

• Nelson Algren author, Detroit
• Ralph J. Bunche statesman, Detroit
• Ellen Burstyn actress, Detroit
• Bruce Catton historian, Petoskey
• Roger Chaffee astronaut, Grand Rapids
• Francis Ford Coppola film director, Detroit
• Thomas E. Dewey politician, Owosso
• Edna Ferber author, Kalamazoo
• Henry Ford industrialist, Dearborn
• Julie Harris actress, Grosse Pointe Park
• William R. Hewlett inventor, Ann Arbor
• Earvin Magic Johnson basketball player, Lansing
• Donald B. Keck inventor, Lansing
• Julie Krone jockey, Benton Harbor
• Ring Lardner writer, Niles
• Dick Martin comedian, Detroit
• John N. Mitchell attorney general, Detroit
• Ted Nugent singer, Detroit
• John T. Parsons inventor, Detroit
• Gilda Radner comedienne, Detroit
• Della Reese singer, Detroit
• Diana Ross singer, Detroit
• Thomas Schippers conductor, Kalamazoo
• Steven Seagal actor, Lansing
• Bob Seger singer, Detroit
• Tom Selleck actor, Detroit
• John C. Sheehan inventor, Battle Creek
• Potter Stewart jurist, Jackson
• Lily Tomlin actress, Detroit
• Danny Thomas entertainer, Deerfield
• Margaret Whiting singer, Detroit
• Stevie Wonder singer, Saginaw