Michigan Walk of Fame

Last updated

The Michigan Walk of Fame, styled on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, honors Michigan residents, past or present, who have made significant contributions to the state or nation.

Contents

Located along central Lansing's Washington Square, it aimed to be the first comprehensive Walk of Fame in the nation to honor the contributions of its residents on a statewide basis. Nominations were accepted from people around the state and nation.

The first group of Michigan Walk of Fame's inductees were honored on May 25, 2006 during Michigan Week. The 2006 inductees were announced on March 14 Stevie Wonder, Helen Thomas, Jeff Daniels, Dick Ford (Gerald Ford's brother), and many others attended the May 25 event to be formally inducted. The intent was for twelve to be added annually. [1]

The second group of inductees was announced in fall 2007. The Walk of Fame was discontinued after 2007. [2]

2006 Inductees

2007 Inductees

Related Research Articles

Stevie Wonder American musician and record producer

Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music during the second half of the 20th century, Wonder is one of the most successful songwriters and musicians. A virtual one-man band, his use of synthesizers and further electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He also helped drive the genre into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive, consistent socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Wonder is often hailed as a "genius", and has been credited as a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz.

Ransom E. Olds American inventor

Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-powered car in 1896. The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.

Roy D. Chapin American businessman

Roy Dikeman Chapin, Sr. was an American industrialist and a co-founder of Hudson Motor Company, the predecessor of American Motors Corporation. He also served as the United States Secretary of Commerce from August 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933, during the final months of the administration of President Herbert Hoover.

The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to automotive history—defined broadly to include persons who may not be household words but who are automotive giants nonetheless. They include award recipients from advertising, car rental, dealerships, designers, racing, financiers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, executives, managers, dealers, inventors, and union officials. It includes the automotive industry, suppliers, dealers, and support.

Michigan Womens Hall of Fame

The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michigan Women's Studies Association. The formation of the Association and the Hall was prompted by five professors from Michigan State University, who were teaching a Women in American Society course.

Claudette Rogers Robinson American singer

Claudette Annette Rogers Robinson is an American singer-songwriter. She was a member of The Miracles from 1957 to 1972. Her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was a founding member of the group, which before 1957 was named "The Matadors." Claudette replaced her brother in the group after he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Robert Edward "Bobby" Rogers was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death on March 3, 2013, in Southfield, Michigan. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Miracles to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to singing, he also contributed to writing some of the Miracles' songs. Rogers is the grandfather of R&B singer Brandi Williams from the R&B girl group Blaque, and is a cousin of fellow Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson.

Harry Kipke

Harry George Kipke was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1937, compiling a career record of 49–30–5. During his nine-year tenure as head coach at Michigan, Kipke's teams compiled a 46–26–4 record, won four conference titles, and captured two national championships in 1932 and 1933. He is one of only three coaches, along with Fielding H. Yost and Bo Schembechler, in Michigan football history to direct teams to four consecutive conference championships. Kipke was also the head baseball coach at the University of Missouri for one season 1925 while he was an assistant football coach at the school. He was inducted into of the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1958.

Alexander Winton British transportation innovator (1860–1932)

Alexander Winton was a Scottish-American bicycle, automobile and diesel engine designer and inventor. He also was an early automobile racer.

Central Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan in the United States

Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corresponds roughly to the thumb and palm, stretching from Michigan's eastern shoreline along Lake Huron into the fertile rolling plains of the Michigan Basin. The region contains cities of moderate size, including Flint, Saginaw, and the state capital of Lansing.

The Arab American News is a weekly bilingual newspaper representing Arab Americans published in Dearborn, Michigan, USA in Greater Detroit. It began publishing on 7 September 1984 and its publisher is Lebanese-born Osama Siblani. The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism estimated in 2009 that the paper has an “unaudited circulation of 30,000 in the Detroit area."

Roy F. Kramer is a former American high school and college football coach and athletics administrator. Kramer was the head football coach for Central Michigan University from 1967 to 1977, compiling a record of 83–32–2 and winning the 1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship. He then served as the athletic director at Vanderbilt University from 1978 to 1990, and later as the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference from 1990 to 2002, where he created the Bowl Championship Series.

The politics of Michigan are divided, with the state being regarded as a swing state, which can be won by either Democratic or Republican presidential candidates. Governors since the 1970s have alternated between the two parties, and statewide offices including attorney general, secretary of state, and senator have been held by members of both parties in varying proportion. The Republican Party holds a majority in both the House and Senate of the Michigan Legislature. The state's congressional delegation is commonly split, with one party or the other typically holding a narrow majority.

Mary P. Sinclair was an American environmental activist and "one of the nation’s foremost lay authorities on nuclear energy and its impact on the natural and human environment".

International Civil Rights Walk of Fame

The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, which honors some of the activists involved in the Civil Rights Movement and others involved in civil rights activities, was created in 2004 and is located at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. It consists of a promenade that showcases the footstep impressions of those honored, marked in granite and bronze. According to the National Park Service, which runs the historic site, the Walk of Fame was created "to give recognition to those courageous soldiers of justice who sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all." Another motivation was to enhance the historic value of the area, enrich its cultural heritage, and make the site a better tourist attraction.

"Black Man" is a track on the 1976 Stevie Wonder album Songs in the Key of Life. The song was written by Wonder and Gary Byrd.

1974 in Michigan

Events from the year 1974 in Michigan.

1972 in Michigan

Events from the year 1972 in Michigan.

1982 in Michigan

Events from the year 1982 in Michigan.

References

  1. AP News Article
  2. Andy Chmura (30 March 2017). "Michigan Walk of Fame brings a hint of Hollywood to Lansing". Spartan News Room.

Coordinates: 42°44′01″N84°33′08″W / 42.73361°N 84.55222°W / 42.73361; -84.55222