On what date was John Lennon assassinated?

John Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980. He was shot outside the Dakota, his apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, after returning from a recording session with Yoko Ono.

Earlier that evening, Lennon had signed a copy of Double Fantasy for Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota. Chapman remained near the building and shot Lennon as he and Ono entered the archway at about 10:50 p.m. Lennon was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:15 p.m.; he was 40 years old.

The date is sometimes confused with December 9 because news of Lennon’s death continued into the following day, especially in time zones outside New York. The date of the shooting, and the date of his death, was December 8 in New York. Chapman was arrested at the scene and later received a sentence of 20-years-to-life imprisonment.