Famed singer-songwriter John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, during a German air raid in World War II.

He was part of The Beatles – with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – which went on to become the most popular bands in Britain with the release of mega-hits like She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand.

Lennon married Cynthia Powell in 1962 and had one son – Julian – with her, but divorced in 1968. He remarried the following year to Japanese avant-garde artist Yoko Ono.

In 1964, the Beatles became the first British band to break out big in the United States. Lennon left the Beatles in 1969 and released his debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, in 1970. He moved to the United States in September 1971 with Ono. In 1980, Lennon returned to the music world with the album Double Fantasy.

Tragically in December 1980, Mark David Chapman, a deranged fan, shot Lennon several times in front of his apartment complex in New York City, which resulted in the death of this legendary musician. Lennon was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.