 John Lennon was an English musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the members of the Beatles , for his subsequent solo career , and for his political activism and pacifism . On 8 December 1980 , Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman in the archway of the Dakota , his residence in New York City . Lennon had just returned from recording " (Just) Starting Over" at the Record Plant . Lennon was buried in a grave reserved for him at the nearby Washington Square Park .
Lennon was born in Liverpool , England , the second son of John Lennon and his wife , Cynthia . Lennon's