John Lennon

John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon and Alfred Lennon. Raised primarily by his aunt Mimi after his parents' separation, he experienced his mother's death in a 1958 car accident, fueling emotional depth in his later work. As a teenager, Lennon embraced the skiffle craze, forming the Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles by 1960. The Beatles skyrocketed to fame under manager Brian Epstein, signing with EMI in 1962. Lennon co-wrote hits with McCartney, innovating beyond pop formulas. Personal milestones included marrying Cynthia Powell and meeting Yoko Ono, influencing his avant-garde shift. Lennon left the Beatles in 1969, forming the Plastic Ono Band with Ono and staging bed-ins for peace. Relocating to New York in 1971, he released solo albums like John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, faced U.S. deportation threats, and became a house husband in the mid-1970s. He returned with Double Fantasy in 1980 but was shot dead on December 8, 1980, outside his Dakota apartment.