In the late 1950’s, John Lennon formed his own band called The Quarrymen. Their name changed several times, from Johnny and the Moondogs to The Silver Beetles until they finally settled on The Beatles in 1960.

Two years later, they had their first single Love Me Do and they took off and never looked back. “Beatlemania” had swept the country and they turned out hit after hit. Lennon even went as far as to say “We’re more popular than Jesus Christ now. I don’t know which will go first, Rock and Roll or Christianity.”

It was in 1966 that Lennon met Yoko Ono, after visiting an exhibit of hers in London. He left his wife in 1968 and started his love affair with Ono, whom he married a year later. They honeymooned in Amsterdam in a “bed-in” for peace and followed this up with another “bed-in” in Montreal where they recorded Give Peace a Chance.

The band split in 1970 with Lennon focusing more of his attention on the lady in his life and in 1971, he released Imagine.

On December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot to death outside his New York apartment. He was honored in his native Liverpool in 2002 when they renamed their airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport. That same year, he was also voted 8th by the British in the 100 Greatest Britons poll by the BBC.

Date of Birth: October 9, 1940
Date of Death: December 8, 1980