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List Of People From Grand Rapids, Michigan
The following is a list of notable people associated with Grand Rapids, Michigan. These people were born or lived in Grand Rapids. Artists and artisans * Mathias Alten — impressionist painter * Jeffrey Brown (cartoonist), Jeffrey Brown — comic book creator * Frederick Stuart Church — illustrator * Kreigh Collins (cartoonist), Kreigh Collins — painter; cartoonist * Paul Collins (artist), Paul Collins — painter * Dirk Gringhuis — illustrator * Daniel Vosovic — clothing designer Business, industry, academic and labor figures Criminals * Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood Entertainment figures * Gillian Anderson — television and film actress * Ford Beebe — film director * Otto Brower — film director * James Callahan (actor), James T. Callahan — film and television actor * Horace B. Carpenter — film actor and director * Jim Cash — screenwriter * Riley Chamberlin — silent film actor * Rex Cherryman — stage and film actor * Shawn Christian — television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities in Michigan, second-most populous city in Michigan. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area has a population of 1.16 million and a combined statistical area population of 1.5 million. Grand Rapids is situated along the Grand River (Michigan), Grand River approximately east of Lake Michigan and is the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan. A historic furniture manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed "Furniture City". As a result of the numerous micro and craft breweries, many with notable reputations nationally such as Founders and New Holland which are known globally, Grand Rapids is also known as "Beer City USA". Due to the prominence of the Grand River, many l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard DeVos
Richard Marvin DeVos Sr. (March 4, 1926 – September 6, 2018) was an American billionaire businessman, co-founder of Amway with Jay Van Andel (company restructured as Alticor in 2000), and owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team. In 2012, ''Forbes'' magazine listed him as the 60th wealthiest person in the United States, and the 205th richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion. Early life DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Ethel Ruth (Dekker) and Simon Cornelius DeVos, Dutch Americans who worked in the electrical business. He was educated at Grand Rapids Christian School, and at Calvin College, and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He served in the military in World War II in the United States Army Air Corps. Career Amway DeVos and his school friend Jay Van Andel founded Amway in 1959 as a multi-level marketing business to distribute cleaning products, following the business model they had observed in a previous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed dual American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate/The CW, CW owned-and-operated station WOTV (channel 41) and Class A television service, Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WXSP-CD (channel 15). The three stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in Grand Rapids; WOOD-TV's transmitter is located southwest of Middleville, Michigan, Middleville. In addition to its main signal, WOOD-TV operates Class A digital Broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators, translator WOGC-CD (UHF channel 25), licensed to Holland, Michigan, Holland with a transmitter in Zeeland, Michigan, Zeeland. There is also a digital repeater on channel 34, also licensed to Grand Rapids, with a transmitter in the Wolf Lake, Michigan, Wolf Lake section of Egelston Township. History The station signed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Loeks
John "Jack" Loeks (family name formerly Loekis) (1918 – February 22, 2004) was an American movie theater pioneer, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He opened one of the first muliplex theaters, Studio 28. Career Loeks opened his first theater, the single screen Foto News Theater, in downtown Grand Rapids, in 1944. In 1948, the theater was renamed to Midtown Theatre. Loeks opened the theater Studio 28, which was one of the first multiplex theaters, in 1965. By 1988, Studio 28 was the largest multiplex in the world, with 20 screens and 6000 seats. He also opened several drive-in movie theaters in West Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ..., and also opened a number of other cinemas across Michigan. Loeks also participated in a lawsuit against Hollywood which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Newell Jacobsen
Hugh Newell Jacobsen (March 11, 1929 – March 4, 2021) was an American architect. He was noted for designing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' home in Martha's Vineyard during the 1980s. He also restored part of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, as well as Spaso House in Moscow. Early life Jacobsen was born on March 11, 1929, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Lucy Ellen (Newell) and John Edwall Jacobsen. His father was initially employed as a meat importer and later worked for the War Shipping Administration during World War II. Consequently, the Jacobsen family moved to Washington, D.C., and he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947. Jacobsen went on to study fine arts at the University of Maryland, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1951. Although he originally intended to become a portrait painter, his father advised him to go into architecture for its job security. Subsequently, he undertook postgraduate studies at Yale University, earning a Master of Architecture in 1955. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loraine Immen
Loraine Immen (, Pratt; August 3, 1840 – October 21, 1927) was an American philanthropist, elocutionist, author, and social leader. She was a life fellow of the Society of Science, Letters and Art. Immen was one of the most active and best known clubwomen in Michigan. She was the inspiring prime mover and first president of the Grand Rapids City Federation of Women's Clubs. Early life and education Loraine Pratt was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, August 3, 1840. Her mother's maiden name was Cook, and her ancestors were related to Captain James Cook. Her father, E. G. Pratt, was a native of Massachusetts, who settled in Michigan in the pioneer days, making his home in Mount Clemens. He was conspicuous in every movement that had for its object the development of the community and the State. The two daughters of the Pratt family enjoyed the advantages of a thorough education. Career Loraine became a teacher at the age of fourteen years, and she succeeded well in the arduous w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John A
Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the Fathers of Confederation, dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political career that spanned almost half a century. Macdonald was born in Scotland; when he was a boy his family immigrated to Kingston, Ontario, Kingston in the Province of Upper Canada (today in eastern Ontario). As a lawyer, he was involved in several high-profile cases and quickly became prominent in Kingston, which elected him in 1844 to the legislature of the Province of Canada. By 1857, he had become List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada, premier under the colony's unstable political system. In 1864, when no party proved capable of governing for long, he agreed to a proposal from his political rival, George Brown (Canadian politician), George Brown, that the parties unite in a Great Coalition to seek fede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the List of Ford vehicles, Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the single-letter ticker symbol F and is controlled by the Ford family (Michigan), Ford family. They have minority ownership but a plurality of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. By 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former British subsidiaries Jaguar Cars, Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steelcase
Steelcase Inc. is an international manufacturer of furniture, casegoods, seating, and storage and partitioning systems for offices, hospitals, classrooms, and residential interiors. It is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. History Originally known as the Metal Office Furniture Company, Steelcase was founded by Peter Martin Wege in 1912. Prior to starting the company, Wege had filed approximately 25 patents related to the sheet metal and fireproofing industries. The Metal Office Furniture Company's first products included fireproof metal safes and four-drawer metal filing cabinets. In 1914, the company received its first product patent for "The Victor", a fireproof steel wastebasket. The Victor gained popularity due to its light weight—achieved through a patented process of bending flat steel at right angles to create boxes—and its ability to prevent fires at a time when smoking was common indoors, particularly in the workplace. In 1915, the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Hackett (businessman)
James Patrick Hackett (born April 22, 1955) is an American businessman. He was the president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company from May 2017 to October 2020. Early life, education, and family The Hackett family originally moved to Central Ohio via County Carlow and County Galway in Ireland. Hackett is a 1977 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he played center on the football team. He holds a bachelor's degree in general studies. He and his wife, Kathy, have two sons. They reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Career From 1977 to 1981, Hackett held sales and management positions at Procter & Gamble in Detroit, Michigan. Hackett spent thirty years with the Grand Rapids-based office furniture company Steelcase. He joined Steelcase in 1981, holding a variety of sales and marketing positions. In 1994, Hackett was named CEO at age 39, making him the youngest leader in the history of the company. He held the position for nearly twenty years before retiring in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Gingrich
Arnold W. Gingrich (December 5, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was the editor of, and, along with publisher David A. Smart and Henry L. Jackson, co-founder of ''Esquire'' magazine. Among his other projects was the political/newsmagazine '' Ken''. Influence Gingrich created ''Esquire'' in 1933 and remained its editor until 1945. He returned as publisher in 1952, serving in this role until his death in 1976. For several years he left the post of editor vacant while several young editors competed for it. The two most serious contenders were Harold Hayes and Clay Felker. Hayes won, and Felker went on to found '' New York'' magazine. During the Hayes–Gingrich era, ''Esquire'' played a leading role in launching the New Journalism, publishing writers including Tom Wolfe and fellow fraternity brother Gay Talese. Biography Gingrich was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, of Mennonite parents in 1903. He attended the University of Michigan where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the presidency after the resignation of President Richard Nixon, under whom he had served as the 40th vice president of the United States, vice president from 1973 to 1974 following Spiro Agnew's resignation. Prior to that, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973. Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan, where he played for Michigan Wolverines football, the university football team, before eventually attending Yale Law School. Afterward, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946. Ford began his political career in 1949 as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, serving in this capacity for nearly 25 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
