1942 in Michigan


Events from the year 1942 in Michigan.

Top stories

The Associated Press polled editors of its member newspapers in Michigan and ranked the state's top news stories of 1942 as follows:
  1. Stephan treason trial. Max Stephan, a German-born Detroit tavernkeeper, was convicted of treason on July 2; the jury deliberated for only one hour and 23 minutes. In April 1942, Tuttle harbored and fed at his tavern a German pilot who escaped from a Canadian POW camp. On August 6, Judge Arthur J. Tuttle sentenced Stephan to death by hanging. He was the first man convicted and sentenced to death on a federal treason charge since the Civil War. In July 1943, nine hours before the time set for his hanging, President Roosevelt commuted his sentence to life in prison. The Stephan story received 197 of a possible 230 points in the polling.
  2. Republican election victory. In the November 3 statewide elections, Republicans won sweeping victories. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Homer S. Ferguson narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Prentiss M. Brown by a margin of 28,057 votes out of 1,189,966 votes cast. In the gubernatorial race, Republican Harry Kelly defeated Democratic incumbent Murray Van Wagoner.
  3. Saginaw Bay boat rescue. A 30-foot fishing boat capsized on August 2 in Saginaw Bay. After all aboard were presumed lost, several of its occupants were rescued.
  4. Train-bus collision. On October 28, a passenger train collided with a DSR bus, cutting the bus in half at the middle doors, at a grade crossing in western Hamtramck where the Grand Trunk tracks meet Caniff. The over-crowded bus carried 45 persons, of whom 16 were killed and 27 others injured.
  5. FDR visit. On September 18, President Franklin Roosevelt visited Detroit war plants, including Ford's Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti and the Chrysler Tank Arsenal in Warren.
  6. Record industrial output. On December 26, the Detroit Board of Commerce reported that the city's industrial output of wartime materials and civilian goods had set a new record in 1942. The 1942 output was approximately $4 billion, nearly double the prior record of $2.1 billion set in 1937. The city also added 150,000 workers to its factory payrolls in 1942 and saw the average work week grow by 27% over the prior record year.
  7. "Home front" activities - The state's "home front" activities, including gasoline and oil rationing, civil defense, and blackouts.
  8. Oakland County murder spree. Dominic Piccone, a 21-year-old man who had been recently released from prison, killed three farmers in Concord and Oxford, Michigan, and abducted a fourth man during a 24-hour crime spree on April 1. One day later, Piccone was captured, confessed, and was sentenced to life in prison.
  9. Sojourner Truth integration - The Sojourner Truth housing project was built for African-American families in a white Polish neighborhood in Detroit. On February 28, a crowd of 1,200 whites organized to bar black families, leading to a clash between white and black groups. More than 1,100 police officers and 1,600 Michigan National Guard troops were mobilized and deployed to guard the six African-American families who moved into the housing project. Eventually, 168 black families moved into the homes. The police arrested 220 people, and 40 people were injured in the conflict.
  10. Dodge death mystery. On August 13, 1942, 43-year-old John Duval Dodge, playboy son of automotive pioneer John Francis Dodge, died from a 10-inch skull fracture after a quarrel with his wife and a violent scuffle with police. The death was ultimately ruled to have been accidental.
Other stories receiving points included:

State office holders

Companies

The following is a list of major companies based in Michigan in 1942.
Company1942 sales 1942 net income HeadquartersCore business
General MotorsDetroitAutomobiles
Ford Motor CompanynanaAutomobiles
ChryslerAutomobiles
Briggs Mfg. Co.DetroitAutomobile parts supplier
S. S. KresgeRetail
Hudson Motor Car Co.DetroitAutomobiles
Detroit EdisonElectric utility
Michigan BellTelephone utility
Kellogg'sBattle CreekBreakfast cereal
Parke-DavisDetroitPharmaceutical
REO Motor Car Co.LansingAutomobiles
Graham-PaigeAutomobiles
Burroughs Adding MachineBusiness machines

Sports

Baseball

Chronology of events

Births