John Lennon

He married Cynthia Powell, a fellow student at the Liverpool College of Art, in 1962. They couple had a son soon after. However problems crept into the marriage within a few years and they divorced in 1968.

He married Yoko Ono, a multimedia artist, singer, and peace activist in 1969. The couple had one son. Yoko played a very influential role in shaping his career after the breaking up of the Beatles.

He was returning home with his wife on 8 December 1980 when Mark David Chapman shot him in the back four times. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. His body was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York and his ashes scattered in New York's Central Park.

He was born as John Winston Lennon on 9 October 1940 in Liverpool, England, to Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman of Irish descent and Julia Stanley.

His father was often away from home because of his job and eventually his mother developed relations with another man and even became pregnant with his child. His parents had a bitter separation when he was five years old.

Because of his family problems he went to live with his aunt Mimi and uncle George who had no children of their own. He was in regular contact with his mother who encouraged his musical interests though his aunt Mimi was against them.

He went to the Dovedale Primary School after which he attended Quarry Bank High School from 1952 to 1957.

He was deeply inspired by Elvis Presley and formed a band called the Quarry Men when he was 16. He met Paul McCartney at a church fete in 1957 and asked him to join the group.

Lennon along with McCartney recruited other aspiring musicians like George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Paul Best to join their band which became known as ‘The Beatles’ in 1960. A couple of years later Best was replaced by drummer Ringo Starr.

During the early 1960s the Beatles became very popular in Britain with hits like ‘Please Please Me’, ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand.’ The band became enormously popular, achieving even more popularity than artists like Tommy Roe, Chris Montez and Roy Orbison. This frenzy was given the name “Beatlemania”, and the four young men became superstars.

Their fame spread to the United States and the Beatles became the first British band to achieve a breakthrough in the country, surpassing the success of the US rock bands.

After having tasted success as musicians, the Beatles decided to try their hand at acting and starred in the 1964 film, ‘A Hard Day's Night’ which became both a commercial and critical success.

Over the next few years the Beatles enjoyed great success and gained much in fame and popularity. However, the unexpected death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967 triggered a series of events that ultimately led to the Beatles’ disbanding.

He is best remembered as the co-founder of the phenomenally successful rock band, The Beatles, which is the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide. The band has been awarded six Diamond albums, as well as 24 Multi-Platinum albums, 39 Platinum albums and 45 Gold albums in the United States.