The jurors ruled that the behaviour of fans did not cause or contribute to the tragedy, which happened when supporters were crushed before an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
The unlawful killing conclusion, reached by a majority of jurors, was greeted with sobbing and cheers at the hearing in Warrington.
In order to reach a verdict of unlawful killing, jurors had to be convinced that match commander chief superintendent David Duckenfield owed a duty of care to those who died in the disaster, and that he was in breach of that duty of care.
Third, they also had to be satisfied that his breach of duty caused the deaths, and fourthly, that it amounted to "gross negligence".
Mr Duckenfield gave the order at 2.52pm to open exit Gate C in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium, allowing around 2,000 fans to pour into the already packed central pens behind one of the goals.
The jurors had to reach decisions on a total of 14 questions about the disaster that were put to them before they began their deliberations at the end of the longest jury hearing in British legal history.
They concluded that both the police and the ambulance service caused or contributed to the loss of lives by an error or omission after the crush had started to develop.
After the key conclusions were delivered, someone in court shouted "God bless the jury", and the jurors were applauded as they left the courtroom.
The original inquests in 1991 ruled the supporters had died accidentally, but the families vowed to overturn the verdicts.
This happened in 2012 with the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report.
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