John Lennon was an English rock musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism. He was shot dead by Mark David Chapman at the entrance of the building where he lived, The Dakota, on Monday, 8 December 1980; Lennon had just returned from the Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.

Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where it was stated that nobody could have lived for more than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. Shortly after local news stations reported Lennon's death, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of The Dakota. He was cremated on 10 December 1980, at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; the ashes were given to Ono, who chose not to hold a funeral for him.

Day of the murder

On the morning of 8 December 1980, photographer Annie Leibovitz went to Ono and Lennon's apartment to do a photo shoot for Rolling Stone. She had promised Lennon a photo with Ono would make the cover, but initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone. Leibovitz recalled that "nobody wanted [Ono] on the cover". Lennon insisted that both he and his wife be on the cover, and after shooting the pictures, Leibovitz left their apartment. After the photo shoot Lennon gave what would be his last ever interview to San Francisco DJ Dave Sholin for a music show on the RKO Radio Network. At 5:00 p.m., Lennon and Ono left their apartment to mix the track "Walking on Thin Ice" at Record Plant Studio.

Mark David Chapman

As Lennon and Ono walked to their limousine, they were approached by several people seeking autographs, among them Chapman. He silently handed Lennon a copy of Double Fantasy, and Lennon obliged with an autograph. After signing the album Lennon politely asked him, "Is this all you want?" Chapman nodded in agreement. Photographer and Lennon fan Paul Goresh snapped a photo of the event.

The Lennons spent several hours at the Record Plant studio before returning to the Dakota at about 10:50 p.m. Lennon decided against eating out so he could be home in time to say goodnight to five-year-old son Sean before he went to sleep. They exited their limousine on 72nd Street, even though the car could have been driven into the more secure courtyard. The Dakota's doorman, Jose Perdomo, and a cab driver saw Chapman standing in the shadows by the archway. Ono walked ahead of Lennon and into the reception area. As Lennon passed by, Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets at Lennon from a Charter Arms .38 Special revolver. There was an isolated radio, television, and newspaper claim at the time that, before firing, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon" and dropped into a "combat stance", but this is not stated in court hearings or witness interviews. Chapman has said he did not remember calling out Lennon's name before he shot him. One shot missed, passing over Lennon's head and hitting a window of the Dakota building. However, two shots struck Lennon in the left side of his back and two more penetrated his left shoulder. All four bullets inflicted severe gunshot wounds, with at least one of them piercing Lennon's aorta. Lennon staggered up five steps to the security/reception area, said, "I'm shot," and collapsed. Concierge Jay Hastings covered Lennon with his uniform, and removed his glasses; he then summoned the police. Outside, doorman Perdomo shook the gun out of Chapman's hand then kicked it across the sidewalk. Chapman then removed his coat and hat in preparation for the police arrival to show he was not carrying any concealed weapons and sat down on the sidewalk. Doorman Perdomo shouted at Chapman, "Do you know what you've done?", to which Chapman calmly replied, "Yes, I just shot John Lennon." The first policemen to arrive were Steve Spiro and Peter Cullen, who were at 72nd Street and Broadway when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers found Chapman sitting "very calmly" on the sidewalk. They reported that Chapman had dropped the revolver to the ground, and was holding a paperback book, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman had scribbled a message on the book's inside front cover: "To Holden Caulfield. From Holden Caulfield. This is my statement." He would later claim that his life mirrored that of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the book.

The second team, Officers Bill Gamble and James Moran, arrived a few minutes later. They immediately carried Lennon into their squad car and rushed him to Roosevelt Hospital. Officer Moran said they placed Lennon on the back seat. Moran asked, "Do you know who you are?" There are conflicting accounts on what happened next. In one account, Lennon nodded slightly and tried to speak, but could only manage to make a gurgling sound, and lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

Death

Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival in the emergency room at the Roosevelt Hospital at 11:21 p.m. by Dr. Stephan Lynn. The cause of death was reported as hypovolemic shock, caused by the loss of more than 80% of blood volume. Dr. Elliott M. Gross, the Chief Medical Examiner, said that no one could have lived more than a few minutes with such multiple bullet injuries. As Lennon was shot four times with hollow-point bullets, which expand upon entering the target and severely disrupt more tissue as they travel through the target, Lennon's affected organs were virtually destroyed upon impact. Ono, crying "Oh no, no, no, no... tell me it's not true," was taken to Roosevelt Hospital and led away in shock after she learned that her husband was dead. The following day, Ono issued a statement: "There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean." Lennon was cremated on 10 December 1980, at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, and his ashes were given to Ono. Chapman pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life. He remains in prison, having been denied parole five times.

Response

Shortly after local news stations reported the shooting, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota, reciting prayers, singing Lennon's songs.

After hearing the news sent by ABC News chief Roone Arledge, sports announcer Howard Cosell, who had briefly interviewed Lennon on Monday Night Football in 1974, announced the news of Lennon's murder during a televised football game between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins:

Lennon was actually shot four times. Facts on the shooting were not clear at the time.

Following the game, Ted Koppel provided further coverage for ABC during Nightline.

NBC announced the news during The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The show was interrupted by an anonymous announcer reading the news bulletin; the show then resumed.

CBS broke the news during regular programming on the network, with Walter Cronkite and CBS News reporters announcing the news to viewers. Later that evening, Cronkite confirmed Lennon's death, at 11:20 pm.

When a reporter asked Lennon's former Beatles-songwriting partner Paul McCartney for his reaction, McCartney said, "Drag, isn't it?" His response was criticised, but McCartney later stated in a Playboy interview: "I had just finished a whole day in shock and I said, 'It's a drag.' I meant 'drag' in the heaviest sense of the word, you know: 'It's a — DRAG.' But, you know, when you look at that in print, it says, 'Yes, it's a drag.' Matter of fact." Earlier that day, McCartney did say to reporters outside his Sussex home, "John will be remembered for his unique contribution to art, music and world peace." Ringo Starr and his fiance, Barbara Bach, were on a holiday in the Bahamas, before hearing the tragic news and both flew to New York to comfort Ono. George Harrison later released a tribute song, "All Those Years Ago" which featured former bandmates Starr on drums and McCartney on backing vocals. McCartney himself also recorded a tribute song for Lennon in his 1982 album, Tug of War, entitled "Here Today."

New York City station WABC-TV broadcast live coverage of the Lennon memorial tribute in Central Park six days after the shooting, with Roger Grimsby anchoring in the studio and Ernie Anastos reporting from the event.

Memorials and tributes

Yoko Ono sent word to the chanting crowd outside the Dakota that their singing had kept her awake; she asked that they re-convene in Central Park the following Sunday for ten minutes of silent prayer. On 14 December 1980, millions of people around the world responded to Ono's request to pause for ten minutes of silence to remember Lennon. Thirty thousand gathered in Liverpool, and the largest group—over 100,000—converged on New York's Central Park, close to the scene of the shooting. Lennon continues to be mourned throughout the world and has been the subject of numerous memorials and tributes, principally New York City's Strawberry Fields, a memorial garden area in Central Park across the street from the Dakota building. Ono later donated $1 million for its maintenance. It has become a gathering place for tributes on Lennon's birthday and on the anniversary of his death, as well as at other times of mourning, such as after the September 11 attacks and following Harrison's death on 29 November 2001.

Elton John, who had recorded the number-one hit, "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" with Lennon, teamed with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin and recorded a tribute to Lennon, entitled, "Empty Garden ." It appeared on John's 1982 album Jump Up! and peaked at #13 on the US Singles Chart that year. When John performed the song at a sold-out concert in Madison Square Garden in August of 1982, he was joined on stage by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon.

Lennon was honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. In 1994, the Republic of Abkhazia issued two postage stamps featuring Lennon and Groucho Marx, spoofing Abkhazia's Communist past. These stamps would have normally borne the portraits of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. On 8 December 2000, Cuba's President, Fidel Castro, unveiled a bronze statue of Lennon in a park in Havana. In 2000, the John Lennon Museum was opened at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Saitama, Japan and Liverpool renamed its airport to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and adopted the motto "Above us only sky" in 2002. The 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death was on 8 December 2005. Celebrations of Lennon's life and music took place in London, New York City, Cleveland, and Seattle. The minor planet 4147 Lennon, discovered 12 January 1983 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in memory of Lennon. On 9 October 2007, Ono dedicated a new memorial called the Imagine Peace Tower, located on the island of Viðey, off the coast of Iceland. Each year, between 9 October and 8 December, it projects a vertical beam of light high into the sky. Every 8 December there is a memorial ceremony in front of the Capitol Records building on Vine Street in Hollywood, California. Many people light candles in front of Lennon's Hollywood Walk of Fame star outside the Capitol Building. From 28 to 30 September 2007, Durness held the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival which was attended by Julia Baird (Lennon's half-sister) who read from Lennon's writings and her own books, and Stanley Parkes, Lennon's Scottish cousin. Parkes said, "Me and Julia [Baird] are going to be going to the old family croft to tell stories". Musicians, painters and poets from across the UK performed at the festival.

In film

The assassination of John Lennon was depicted in the Chapter 27 film in 2008. Directed by J. P. Schaefer, the filmed starred Jared Leto as Mark David Chapman, and ironically, Lennon was played by an actor named Mark Chapman.

Notes

1. ABC News Nightline television report early in the morning of December 9, 1980. The "Mr. Lennon" and "combat stance" statements were made several times.
2. "Police Trace Tangled Path Leading To Lennon's Slaying at the Dakota" by Paul L. Montgomery, The New York Times, 10 December 1980, pp. A1,B6 (unverified quotes attributed to NYPD Chief of Detectives James T. Sullivan and in turn to an unnamed witness)
3. Seaman, Last Days of John Lennon, pg237
4. Cable News Network (CNN) and anchor Kathleen Sullivan was the first to report that Lennon had been shot, and was being rushed to Roosevelt Hospital (his death had not been confirmed).
5. Clyde Haberman, "Silent Tribute to Lennon's Memory is Observed Throughout the World," The New York Times, 15 December 1980 pA1

Books and articles

• Jay Cocks, "The Last Day in the Life". Time, 22 December 1980.
• David Rosenthal et al., "The Death and Life of John Lennon". New York, 22 December 1980.
• Tom Mathews et al., "Death of a Beatle." Newsweek, 22 December 1980.

External links

• Tom Brook BBC
• Chapman's hitlist
• Google search result for books
• Yoko Ono Displays John Lennon's Bloodied Clothes by John Carucci, The Huffington Post, May 12 2009