IT has been 40 years since one of the world's most famous musicians, John Lennon, was shot and killed.
As many reflect on how his music touched lives across the globe, here's what you should know about the Beatles member.
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John Lennon pictured in 1964 Credit: Getty - Contributor How did John Lennon die?
On December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot and killed by a fan at his residence in Manhattan, New York.
Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife Yoko Ono.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Roosevelt Hospital, after getting four major gunshot wounds.
A memorial close to where he was shot, called Strawberry Fields, is located in Central Park.
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John Lennon pictured with his wife Yoko Ono How old was John Lennon when he died?
John Lennon was 40 when he was rushed in a police car to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
He was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England and would have been 81 in 2021.
He was killed just two months after his fortieth birthday.
Who killed John Lennon?
Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder of Lennon and was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment.
He has remained in prison ever since, having been denied parole ten times due to campaigns against his release after he became eligible in 2000.
Chapman, a Beatles fan who had idolised Lennon, allegedly started planning to kill him three months before he committed the murder.
He turned against Lennon after making his religious conversion, and was angry about Lennon's well-publicised 1966 comment that Beatles were "more popular than Jesus."
What were his greatest songs?
Lennon's most famous song is Imagine which was released in 1971.
The song was number one in the UK for four weeks and was followed by two more No1 hits, (Just Like) Starting Over and Woman in the 80s.
He had other solo success with Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Instant Karma and Nobody Told Me.
He wrote many songs for The Beatles with bandmate Paul McCartney.
These included Yesterday, Yellow Submarine, Lady Madonna and Help!
The band - also featuring George Harrison and Ringo Starr - had chart success with the Lennon/McCartney tracks From Me To You, Ticket To Ride and All You Need Is Love.
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After their success, they became widely regarded as the most influential music band in history.
The Beatles have been acclaimed as the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 800 million physical and digital albums worldwide.
They have had more number one albums in the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.
They are also best-selling music artists in the United States, with over 183 million certified units.
John Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman tells about the moment he committed his crime on Larry King Live