Nineteen-eighty was a year of reemergence for John Lennon. He had spent the last five years mostly removed from the spotlight, dedicating himself full-time to raising his son, Sean, alongside his wife, Yoko Ono. In 1980, the year Lennon turned forty, he recorded a comeback album, Double Fantasy, which was released weeks before his death.
About that death: Around 5 p.m., on December 8, 1980, Lennon and Ono left their home at The Dakota, a historic apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side overlooking Central Park, for a recording session. He signed an autograph on his way out for a man named Mark David Chapman. When Lennon and Ono returned shortly before 11 p.m., Chapman was waiting outside, where he shot Lennon. He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. An outpouring of grief, public and private, followed as the world mourned his death.
These photos from the year 1980 show Lennon busy, happy, and in the company of Ono. They also hint at the scale of grief his death sparked. His life made a profound impact on the world, which is felt four decades after his untimely death.
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Patrick Partington//Getty Images
A heavily bearded John Lennon walks with Yoko Ono outside the Breaker Beach Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
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David McGough
Lennon and Ono in New York.
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David McGough
Lennon signs an autograph in New York.
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Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images
Lennon, Ono, and Matt Dillion pose for a photo in New York.
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David McGough
Lennon and Yono on the street in New York on August 18.
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Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images
Lennon and Ono outside The Hit Factory, a recording studio in Times Square, in August while they record his final album, Double Fantasy.
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Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images
Lennon gets into a car outside The Hit Factory.
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Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images
Another shot of Lennon leaving The Hit Factory in August.
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Michael Ochs Archives//Getty Images
Lennon signs an autograph outside The Hit Factory in August.
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Jack Mitchell//Getty Images
Lennon and Yono were photographed on November 2, marking the first time Lennon had been professionally photographed in five years and the final comprehensive shoot of his life.
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Mark and Colleen Hayward//Getty Images
Lennon and Yono inside The Hit Factory on December 6, two days before his death.
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Mark and Colleen Hayward//Getty Images
Another photo of Lennon inside The Hit Factory on December 6, 1980, with Ono and deejay Andy Peebles.
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Paul Goresh/Popperfoto
The last photo ever taken of Lennon as he signs a copy of Double Fantasy outside his home around 5 p.m. on December 8. The man in the background, for whom he's signing the autograph, is Mark David Chapman, who shot him to death later that night.
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Ron Galella//Getty Images
One hour after Lennon was shot and killed, fans had gathered outside The Dakota.
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NBC NewsWire//Getty Images
The day after Lennon's death, Jane Pauley and Tom Brokaw on the air for NBC News during a tribute to Lennon.
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Keystone//Getty Images
A crowd outside The Dakota in the days after Lennon's death.
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Jacob SUTTON//Getty Images
A crowd in Lennon's hometown of Liverpool, England.
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Bettmann//Getty Images
A memorial to Lennon in Central Park on December 14.
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Fox Photos//Getty Images
The crowd in Central Park memorializing Lennon.
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Owen Franken - Corbis//Getty Images
A woman in Central Park holds a sign during a memorial for Lennon.