December 8 in History
1980 – Former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in front of The Dakota in New York City
On the evening of December 8, 1980, John Lennon (40), formerly of the Beatles, was shot dead in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City, by Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan who had travelled from Hawaii. Chapman said he was angered by Lennon’s lifestyle and public statements, especially his much-publicized remark about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus” and the lyrics of his later songs ‘God’ and ‘Imagine’. Chapman also said he was inspired by the fictional character Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye.
-Wikipedia