Charles Manson

There is nothing to celebrate here, and the record should say so plainly. Manson won no awards, received no honours and appears on no reputable "greatest" list. The distinctions attached to his name are criminal: convictions for first-degree murder and conspiracy in 1971, a death sentence later reduced to life, and a death in custody in 2017 after more than four decades behind bars. His cultural footprint, measured in documentaries, books and endless references, is a measure of harm rather than achievement.