Pop star, composer, and songwriter John Lennon was born October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England. Lennon met McCartney in 1957 and invited Paul to join his music group. They eventually formed the most successful songwriting partnership in musical history. Lennon left The Beatles in 1969 and later released albums with his wife Yoko Ono, and others. In 1980 a crazed fan killed him. In September of 1969, Lennon returned his MBE (Member of the British Empire), awarded by Queen Elizabeth to the Beatles in 1965, in protest over Great Britain's support for the Vietnam War. After their marriage in March 1969, John and Yoko staged a "bed-in for peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton. It was at their second bed-in in Montreal in June of 1969 that Lennon recorded "Give Peace a Chance" in his hotel room, aided by a host of celebrities such as Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, and Murray the K. The song was sung by half a million Vietnam War protestors at the second Vietnam Moratorium Day in October 1969 in Washington, D.C. Noting Lennon's appearance at the Sinclair rally, Senator Strom Thurmond sent a memo to Attorney General John Mitchell in February 1972 declaring that Lennon could pose a serious threat to the re-election of Richard Nixon that year. Lennon could allegedly mobilize the youth vote against Nixon as well as donate sizeable sums of money for rallies that would disrupt Nixon's idea of an orderly America. The following month the Immigration and Naturalization Service began a four-year effort to deport Lennon based on his 1968 conviction of drug possession. Lennon wasn’t religious but atheist. He was one for peace and totally against war and violence. He was what they would call a “hippy”. He stood up for his convictions through protest and by returning awards to countries he didn’t agree with politically. All in all, John Lennon was eventually murdered for his belief and for one of his most controversial quotes, “We’re more popular than Jesus”, as
