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Birth
SourceJohn Winston Lennon was born October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK, during a German air raid in World War II. John's father was a merchant seaman. He was not present at his son's birth and did not see a lot of his son when he was small. -
John Plays His First Gig
SourceOn this date, John Lennon made his first public music preformance with his first band, the Quarry Men at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fete. At this venue, he me Paul McCartney. -
John Lennon's Mother, Julia Dies
SourceOn the evening of July 15, 1958, disaster struck. Julia Lennon attempted to cross the road back to her home where John was waiting when she was hit by a car being driven by an off-duty policeman and died instantly, aged 44. This affected John for the rest of his life. -
The Beatles Release Their First Single
SourceThe Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein in 1961 at the Cavern Club, where they were performing on a regular basis. As their new manager, Epstein secured a record contract with EMI. With a new drummer, Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), and George Martin as producer, the group released their first single, 'Love Me Do', in October. 1962. It peaked on the British charts at number 17. -
John Marries Cynthia
Source On 23 August 1962 John Lennon married Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant register office in Liverpool.
Brian Epstein was the best man, and George Harrison and Paul McCartney were also in attendance. Absent was John's aunt Mimi, who disapproved of the union, although Cynthia's half brother and his wife were there. -
Marriage to Yoko Ono
SourceOn March 20, 1969, Lennon and Ono were married in Gibraltar; for their honeymoon, they held their first "Bed-in for Peace," in the presidential suite of the Amsterdam Hilton. The peace movement was the first of several political causes the couple would take up over the years, but it was the one that generated the most publicity. -
Lennon Leaves the Beatles
SourceThe Beatles fell apart in 1969. John Lennon officially left the group in Spetember, but decided not to announce it while the group was re-negotiating its record contract, the opposite of what Paul McCartney did. -
Lennon Releases #9 Dream
SourceOn this date, Lennon's famous "#9 Dream" was released in the US on Walls and Bridges. John wrote and produced it with 9 session musicians. -
Double Fantasy is Released
Source The album Double Fantasy, jointly credited to John Lennon and Yoko Ono and named for a flower he’d seen at a botanical garden, was released on November 17, 1980. This was the final known work he created before his death and was one of the most eagerly anticipated music events of the decade. -
Death
sourceIn 1980, John and Yoko returned to the studio to work on double fantasy plotting a full-fledged comeback. Then, shockingly, Lennon was shot to death outside the building where he and Ono lived on December 8, 1980.