Remembering John Lennon, 32 Years After He Was Shot Dead By Mark Chapman Four Times

On Dec. 8, 1980 John Ono Lennon, was returning with his wife Ono to their New York apartment he was shot four times in the back by a Mark David Chapman with his .38 special revolver around 10:50 pm. Lennon was immediately taken to hospital by the New York City Police Department in their car where he was pronounced dead at 11:07 pm.

Just hours earlier, Lennon had signed an autograph of his new "Double Fantasy" for Chapman.

After he shot Lennon, Chapman sat on the sidewalk waiting for the police to arrive and started to read "The Catcher in the Rye."

"John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him," said Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife.

Killing an artist, a musician was something that was not witnessed as was the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and other who were politicians or leader of a movement.

Music lovers irrespective of their beliefs across the world mark Dec. 8 in his memory.

Lennon was one "four lads from Liverpool" who was the founding members of the popular rock band, Beatles in 1960. The band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He and McCartney were celebrated songwriters of twentieth century.

Lennon started his career with the Quarrymen, which he established when he was just 15. In 1969, when The Beatles were being split, John Lennon told the band: "I'm breaking the group up. It feels good. It feels like a divorce."

After he went solo in 1970, he released his debut solo John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and later gave the world iconic songs like "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance."

Lennon redefined the behaviour for rock stars. He was famous for his words that Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." The reaction to this was met with criticism in the U.S. with records of the band being burnt down and their songs being removed from radio stations.

Lennon supported anti- Vietnam war movement, FBI had kept him surveillance as he was sympathetic to International Marxist Group.

In 1969 Lennon married Ono changing his name from John Winston Lennon to John Ono Lennon.

Lennon began a five-year hiatus in 1975 to look after his son Sean. Later returning in 1980 with the new album "Double Fantasy." He was shot three weeks later by Chapman.