Detroit

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.