John Lennon was 40 years old when he died on December 8, 1980.
Born in Liverpool on October 9, 1940, Lennon became internationally famous as the Beatles’ co-lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriting partner of Paul McCartney. After the Beatles broke up, he built a successful solo career with songs including “Imagine” and “Give Peace a Chance.”
Lennon was shot outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City by Mark David Chapman. He was taken to Roosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:15 p.m. He had turned 40 exactly two months earlier, on October 9.
A common mix-up is confusing Lennon’s age with the age of other Beatles at their deaths or with the timing of his final album. His album Double Fantasy had been released only three weeks before his murder and later won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.