Charles Manson, born Charles Maddox on November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died on November 19, 2017, in Bakersfield, California, was an American criminal.

As the leader of a community known as the “Manson Family” during the late 1960s hippie era, he became infamous for a series of murders in the Los Angeles area in 1969. In 1971, he was convicted of the highly publicized murder of actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, who was eight months pregnant at the time, along with four of her friends. Although he did not commit the crimes himself, Manson was recognized as the mastermind behind them. He was initially sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. Manson’s global notoriety left a lasting impact on culture, inspiring numerous films, music groups, artists, and documentaries.