John Lennon was born in 1940 in Liverpool, England and formed his first band, The Quarry Men, in the late 1950s which later became The Beatles. As the leader of The Beatles during their rise to fame in the 1960s, Lennon was also known for controversial remarks that caused backlash. After The Beatles split in 1969, Lennon had a successful solo career and became a figurehead of the anti-war movement, until he was shot and killed in 1980 by a obsessed fan in New York City at age 40.

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2. John Lennon Short Biography of John Lennon John Lennon was born, October 1940, during a German air raid in Oxford Street Maternity hospital, Liverpool. During his childhood, he saw little of his father, Freddie, who went AWOL whilst serving in the navy. For several years, John was brought up by his mother’s sister Mimi. In his early years John was a mischievous students, who would be quick to take the mucky out of teachers and other student. Whilst in his early teens he got his first guitar and would spend many hours playing. His aunt Mimi, used to regularly say: “ The guitar's all very well, John, but you'll never make a living out of it."

3. In the late 1950s John formed a rock group called the Quarry Men Skiffle Band. This was the precursor to the Beatles. In 1957, he met and formed a successful musical partnership with Paul McCartney. They complemented each other very well. Lennon focused on the more satirical aspects and McCartney veered towards the more optimistic cheerful qualities. Lennon was considered the leader of the Beatles, due to his superior age and also his musical abilities. It was, however, McCartney who persuaded Lennon to allow George Harrison to enter the band as lead guitarist. The first concert of the Beatles was at the Cavern club in Liverpool on 21st March, 1961. After being rejected by many music labels, they eventually signed an agreement with Parlophone in 1962. During the great success of the Beatles, during the 1960s John Lennon would often be the figurehead for the group, although, they maintained that the decisions of the group were democratic.

4. John Lennon was no stranger to controversy. In the early 1960s, he made an off the cuff remark about Jesus that landed the group in a mire of controversy. John Lennon said that “the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.” He claimed this was a mere observation, which was probably true in England. Nevertheless, it led to a boycott in the US, especially in the deep south. There was also a wave of record burnings, although Lennon wryly remarked that to burn them they had to buy them first.

5. John Lennon and Meditation During the late 1970s John Lennon and the Beatles became interested in meditation. They spent several weeks in the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Although, John later broke ties with the organisation, he continued to advocate meditation. "I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong. "

6. John Lennon Solo Career john-lennon In 1969 the Beatles had started to split up; it was John Lennon who was the main factor behind this. After 1970, John Lennon created a very successful solo career, often with the help of his second wife, Yoko Ono. In the early 1970s John Lennon also became a figurehead for the anti war Movement. His song “Give Peace a Chance” became an anthem for the anti-war movement. Due to his anti war stance the Nixon administration tried to have him deported, but after a long struggle he was able to gain a green card in 1976. His song “Imagine” has also become a tremendously influential song; it was voted 'most popular song' by the British public. John Lennon was shot dead in 1980, by David Chapman – an obsessed fan. The death shocked the world, both musical and non musical.

15. Lennon was considered the leader of The Beatles, as he founded the original group. McCartney said, 'We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader - he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing.'

16. Policemen struggle to restrain young Beatles fans outside Buckingham Palace as The Beatles receive their MBEs (Member of the British Empire) in 1965. John Lennon later returned his MBE in September 1969, in protest against British politics.

17. John Lennon posing on ski slopes for United Artist's Help!

18. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the Indian mystic who introduced British pop group The Beatles to transcendental meditation. Here he sits with George Harrison and John Lennon at the UNICEF Gala in Paris.

19. John held the now infamous ‘Bed-In’ for a peace event with wife Yoko Ono in both Amsterdam and Toronto; thus creating his anti-war anthem, Give Peace a Chance.

20. John had a strong affection for cats, actually having owned as many as six at a time.

21. When the Nixon Administration found out about Lennon's plans for a rock tour in support of anti-war organizing and voter registration, the Immigration and Naturalization Service made several attempts to deport Lennon.

22. John decided that he wanted to be a 'rocker,' after hearing Elvis Presley sing ‘HeartBreak Hotel’, and when Elvis and John met in 1965, Elvis was unsure of John's name, so he addressed him as ‘Beatle.

23. In one of his last major interviews Lennon said that he'd always been very macho and had never questioned his chauvinistic attitudes towards women until he met Ono.

24. Today Yoko Ono still proves herself to be a provocative and controversial artist and her Sean Lennon follows in his father’s footsteps as a singer, songwriter, musician and even an actor.

25. December 8, 1980 John Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980, as he returned to his New York apartment from a recording session

30. John was cremated at a private ceremony the day after his death. The whereabouts of his ashes have never been revealed. The memorial to J. Lennon in Central Park called: ’Strawberry Fields' still continues to draw people who leave tributes to him.

31. John was cremated at a private ceremony the day after his death. The whereabouts of his ashes have never been revealed. The memorial to J. Lennon in Central Park called: ’Strawberry Fields' still continues to draw people who leave tributes to him.

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