City (pop., 2000: 951,270), largest in Michigan, U.S. Located on the Detroit River and founded by the French in 1701, it became a trading centre for the Great Lakes region.
It surrendered to the British during the French and Indian War , then came under U.S. control in 1796. The capital of Michigan from 1805 to 1847, it grew as one of the country's shipping and flour-milling centres. In the 20th century it became the automobile capital of the world with the help of Henry Ford . The city's industrial growth attracted migrants, at first Europeans and later Southern blacks, who by 1990 made up three-fourths of the population. The decline in the area's automotive industry brought economic hardship in the late 20th century. Wayne State University (1868) is the city's oldest college.