Born: 9 October 1940 · Died: 8 December 1980 · Age: 40
Singer-songwriter who co-founded the Beatles with Paul McCartney and later wrote the peace anthem Imagine
Did you know?As a child, he sang in a church choir and was a keen member of the Boy Scouts.
Quick facts
Date of birth9 October 1940
Date of death8 December 1980
Age at death40
Cause of deathGunshot wound
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceLiverpool, England
Occupationsinger-songwriter, musician
Editor's Take:
John Lennon was the restless, sharp-tongued heart of the Beatles, and much of their edge came from him. With Paul McCartney he formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships ever, turning out hits that changed what pop music could be. After the band split, he used his fame as a platform for peace, staging his famous "bed-ins" with Yoko Ono and writing Imagine, a song that has become an anthem for a better world. He could be brilliant, funny, cruel and vulnerable, often in the same interview. His murder outside his New York home in 1980, aged just 40, stunned a generation who had grown up with his voice.
Key Milestones
1957: Meets Paul McCartney in Liverpool
1963: The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me
1967: Releases Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1969: Marries Yoko Ono and stages bed-ins for peace
1971: Releases Imagine
1980: Shot dead in New York
Singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Beatles, later a peace activist.
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
