The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Adrian, Michigan.

Academics and engineering

William James Beal William James Beal (March 11, 1833 – May 12, 1924) was an American botanist. He was a pioneer in the development of hybrid corn and the founder of the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden. Biography Beal was born in Adrian, Michigan, to William and ...

, botanist; co-founder of Collegeville (later known as

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

); born in Adrian *

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...

, theatrical and

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

(

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

pavilion " Futurama"); born in Adrian * Myrtle Craig Mowbray, educator and first African American woman to graduate from the

Michigan Agricultural College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in 1907; born in Adrian *

Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...

, prolific

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning American author, journalist, and historian, grew up in Adrian

Business

* Orville D. Merillat, founder of Merillat Kitchens, later

Merillat Industries Merillat Industries was founded in Adrian, Michigan as an American manufacturer of kitchen cabinets in 1946 by Orville D. Merillat. Now retired, Richard Merillat, took over from his father as CEO and President. The Merillat Industries corporate ...

; moved to Adrian as a young man

Media and music

Kirk Baily Kirk Baily (February 2, 1963 – February 28, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Kevin "Ug" Lee on the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Salute Your Shorts'', and later for his voice acting roles in animation and video games. E ...

, (1963–2022), actor *

Priscilla Bonner Priscilla Bonner (February 17, 1899 – February 21, 1996) was an American silent film actress who specialized in portraying virginal, innocent heroines. Early years Priscilla Bonner was born in Washington, D.C. on February 17, 1899. Her ...

(1899-1996) Silent Screen movie star grew up in Adrian. * Byron Darnton, war correspondent for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; born in Adrian *

Margaret Wynne Lawless Margaret Wynne Lawless (, Wynne; July 14, 1847 – January 18, 1926) was an American poet, author, educator, and philanthropist. She contributed to the '' Catholic World'', ''Ave Maria'', ''Rosary Magazine'', ''Pilot'', ''New World'', and conduct ...

(1847–1926) poet, author, educator, philanthropist * Allen Lee Haff, television personality (''

Auction Hunters ''Auction Hunters'' is an American reality television series that premiered on November 9, 2010, on Spike. In June 2011, Spike announced that it had ordered a third season of ''Auction Hunters'' with 26 episodes. In August 2012, Spike announced ...

''); born in Adrian *

Matt Noveskey William Matthew Noveskey (born June 16, 1976 in Adrian, Michigan, USA) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and bassist, best known as the bassist in the bands Blue October and Harvard of the South, and as bassist a ...

, bass player for

Blue October Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist M ...

; born in Adrian * James Royce Shannon (1881–1946), composer and lyricist; born in Adrian

Politics and law

* Fernando C. Beaman, former U.S. Congressman; lived in Adrian and was mayor in 1856 * Jerome B. Chaffee, U.S.

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Colorado; lived in Adrian where he was a teacher and local businessman * Thomas M. Cooley, 25th Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; lived in Adrian * Charles Croswell, 17th Governor of Michigan; lived in Adrian *

William L. Greenly William L. Greenly (September 18, 1813November 29, 1883) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as the sixth governor of Michigan. Early life in New York Greenly was born in Hamilton, New York. He graduated from Union College ...

, fifth Governor of Michigan; lived in Adrian * Chris Gregoire, 22nd

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

; born in Adrian * Haviland H. Lund, inspector of home settlement projects for the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

; born in Adrian

Crime

Sile Doty Sile Doty (August 30, 1800 – March 12, 1876) was an infamous robber, burglar, horse thief, highwayman, counterfeiter, and criminal gang leader. Stewart Holbrook says that Doty "was, before the James-Younger era, the most energetic and no ...

, infamous criminal gang leader; lived in Adrian

Sports

Baseball

* Rube Kisinger (1876–1941), pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

; born in Adrian * Mike Marshall (1943-2021), pitcher with 9 different

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

teams; 2× All-Star (1974, 1975); recipient of the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

(1974); born in Adrian *

Frank Navin Francis Joseph Navin (April 18, 1871 – November 13, 1935) was the president of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He was part-owner from 1908 to 1919, and principal owner from 1919 to 1935. He also ser ...

(1871–1935), principal owner of the

(1909–1935); vice president and acting president of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

; born in Adrian

Coaching

* William Reid, basketball player, led Adrian High School to 1912 state title, coach at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

, NCAA administrator and member of

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

* Dale R. Sprankle, championship coach at

Adrian College Adrian College is a private liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40 km2) campus contains newly constructed facilities along with historic buil ...

Football

Marcus Benard Marcus Benard (born July 26, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Jackson State. Professional career Cleveland Browns Benard wa ...

, linebacker for

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

; born in Adrian *

Kellen Davis Kellen M. Davis (born October 11, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State. College career Davis was ranked among t ...

, tight end for

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, formerly for

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

; born in Adrian * Dorne Dibble, wide receiver for the

; 2x NFL Champion (1953, 1957); born in Adrian *

John Maulbetsch John Frederick Maulbetsch (June 20, 1890 – September 14, 1950) was an All-American football halfback at Adrian College in 1911 and for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1914 to 1916. He is also a member of the College Football Hal ...

, All-American football halfback; played for

in 1911 *

Bob Westfall Robert Barton "Bullet Bob" Westfall (May 5, 1919 – October 23, 1980) was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan (1939–1941) and the Detroit Lions (1944–1947). He was a consensus first-team All-American in ...

(1919–1980), All-American football fullback; played for

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

1939–1941; played for

1945 All-pro; inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987; lived in Adrian

Military

* John Hack, awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

; grew up in Adrian and joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

there

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of people from Adrian, Michigan *

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...