Who Are Michigan's Heroes? Test Your Or (Better) Your Kids' Knowledge

Detroit native Charles Lindbergh was the first pilot to fly from New York to Paris. (Photo via Wikimedia / Creative Commons)

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You know who Henry Ford is, and the important role the industrialist played in Michigan’s development. And there are a few others – W.K. Kellogg, Charles Lindbergh and others – who are included in a list 14 Michiganders who were considered heroes of their time compiled by the website OnlyInYourState.com.

Motown legends like Berry Gordy Jr., who founded the label, and Aretha Franklin, whose pipes are so strong that her voice was once named a natural resource by the state of Michigan, are on the list.

So are Rosa Parks, Malcolm X – and before those legendary civil rights figures – abolitionist Sojourner Truth.

But what about Todd Beamer?

Do you know what puts him in a class with people whose names you read in the history books?

Beamr was one of the passengers who tried to save the doomed United Airlines Flight 93, hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11. before it crashed in a Pennsylvania.

Also on Patch:

• Killed by KKK, Smeared by FBI, Civil Rights Martyr Finally Hailed as Hero

Here’s the full list – a good resource to consult later this summer when you’re looking for some intellectual enrichment activities for your kids:

14: Berry Gordy Jr., Motown Records founder, who helped seed the Detroit area’s rich tradition of R&B and popular soul music.

13: Isiah Thomas, a Chicago native who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and went on to become a giant for the NBA Detroit Pistons.

12: Charles Lindbergh, the pioneering aviator was born in Detroit and gained fame by flying from New York to Paris. There’s a tragic side to his story – “the crime of the century” involving the abduction and murder of his son.

11: Joe Louis, the heavyweight who is regarded one of the best boxers of all time. He was born in Alabama, but later moved to Detroit, where a sculpture of his powerful fist has become a symbol of determination.

10: Will Keith Kellogg, America’s cereal king, who taught America a new way to eat breakfast.

9: Jimmy Hoffa, the influential labor leader who may or may not be buried somewhere in the metro Detroit area, epitomized the American labor movement.

8: Henry Ford, the founder for Ford Motor Co. who was also complicated and controversial.

7: Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women’s rights activist who was born a slave, but fought, and won, her freedom. She was born in New York, but lived until her death in Battle Creek.

6: Malcolm X, arguably one of the most important civil rights figures in the 1960s, was born in Omaha as Malcolm Little. He went by various names, including “Detroit Red.”

5: Magic Johnson, the former NBA star, entrepreneur and HIV activist grew up in Lansing.

4: Aretha Franklin, the Motown legend with the powerful voice.

3: Norman Shumway of Kalamazoo is considered the father of the heart transplant and was one of the leading transplant surgeons of his time.

2: Todd Beamer, the everyday hero on United Airlines Flight 93.

1: Rosa Parks, the legendary civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, lived in Detroit for many years before her death in 2005. She was born in Tuskegee, AL.

Tell Us:

• Who was slighted on the list of Michiganders who were considered heroes of their time?