Infamous Assassinations: Profiles 1953 - 1995

John Lennon

Who was he? Rock musician and former member of the Beatles.

When was he assassinated? December 8, 1980.

Where was he assassinated? Outside the Dakota apartment building, New York City.

Who did it? Mark Chapman, a deranged former Lennon fan.

Why? Chapman had been a keen Beatles fan in his youth. But, as he succumbed to a series of mental illnesses, he came to regard Lennon as a hypocrite, whose political and social pronouncements were at odds with his millionaire lifestyle.

What happened? Chapman shot Lennon four times outside the Dakota building as the star returned from an evening recording session with his wife, Yoko Ono.

What was the consequence? Lennon became immortalised as the lost voice of a generation. Chapman is still detained at the Attica Correctional Facility, New York.