Born On This Date: Remembering The Legendary John Lennon (1940-1980)

NEW YORK, NY — Today is Oct. 9, which to music fans across the globe marks what would have been the 83rd birthday of the legendary John Lennon. From “Help,” “Revolution” and “A Day In the Life” to “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine,” the bespectacled and charismatic singer-songwriter penned and performed hundreds of memorable tunes, first with the Beatles and later as a soloist.

Born Oct. 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England, the founder of the Quarrymen (original name of the Beatles) was shot and killed by a crazed gunman at 10:50 p.m. on Dec. 8, 1980. Near the end of a Monday Night Football game on BC-TV between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, the unenviable task of informing a shocked nation about the killing was left to sportscaster Howard Cosell.

Retired Enfield police lieutenant Pat Droney said, "I was watching TV and they broke in with the newsflash. I was like, 'Why would someone shoot John Lennon?'"

"I heard it on the radio in my car after a night class in college," Neil Boynton recalled. "I was not devastated as many were, though I came to appreciate his work years later."

Patch would like to hear from John Lennon fans - their earliest memories, favorite songs with the Beatles and on his own, feelings about his activism. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

R.I.P. John - “Imagine all the people sharing all the world.”