[Daily article] December 8: John Lennon

John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter 
who achieved worldwide fame as a founding member of The Beatles, one of 
the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the 
history of popular music. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon had a 
rebellious nature and acerbic wit, and at 16-years-old, formed a 
skiffle group which evolved into The Beatles in 1960. With bandmate 
Paul McCartney, he established the Lennon/McCartney songwriting 
partnership, which provided the bulk of the Beatles' catalogue until 
they dissolved at the end of the decade. Lennon then embarked on a solo 
career that produced the critically acclaimed albums John 
Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. He became controversial through 
his work as a peace activist; his iconic songs, "Give Peace a Chance" 
and "Imagine", were adopted as anthems of the anti-war movement. With 
his wife and muse Yoko Ono, he moved to New York City in 1971, where 
his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by 
Richard Nixon's administration to deport him. He took a sabbatical from 
the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, reemerging in 
1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered on December 8, 
three weeks after its release.

Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon>

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1432:

Lithuanian Civil War: The first battle between the forces of 
Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis was fought near the modern town