John Lennon (1940 - 1980) was born in Liverpool, England. His mother taught him to play the piano and the banjo, and bought him his first guitar, instilling in him his love for music. In the late fifties, he and Paul McCartney formed The Beatles in Liverpool.

After the band broke out in the United States in 1964, Lennon became an international superstar. At the height of Beatlemania, the band broke the record for the largest concert audience and the members were knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Lennon started his solo career in 1970, and became a peace activist, famously protesting the Vietnam War.