On a cold night 36 years ago, Mark David Chapman waited for John Lennon outside the New York City apartment building where the former Beatle lived with his wife Yoko Ono and his son.

Chapman, who was 25 at the time, had asked Lennon earlier that day for an autograph, which the former Beatle signed.

Yet five hours later, the killer, who said he wanted to be famous, opened fire with a Charter Arms .38-caliber pistol striking Lennon four times.

The 40-year-old singer-songwriter collapsed, mortally wounded. TV networks in the United States interrupted their Monday Night Football broadcast to announce news of Lennon's death. Within hours, the shocking murder became front page news across the globe. With his death on December 8, 1980, vanished any hope that The Beatles could reform.

The world immediately began to mourn Lennon, who had released what would become his final studio album just weeks beforehand. Per his wife Yoko Ono's request, Lennon did not have a funeral, but that didn't stop massive crowds from turning out to honor him. More than 30,000 people gathered in Liverpool for a memorial concert, and 225,000 headed to New York City's Central Park to remember Lennon, Mashable reported.
Rock fans are still grieving decades later, leading the words "John Lennon" to trend on Twitter Thursday morning and news outlets to share still-relevant quotes about peace and love. If you're among the thousands remembering Lennon Thursday, take some time to listen to your favorite Beatles song and learn more about Lennon's death:
Chapman, who is still alive and in prison, told the court in 2012 that he killed Lennon "because he was very famous."
Chapman sold a painting by American artist Norman Rockwell in order to fund his trip to New York City to kill Lennon.
The gunman met Lennon hours before shooting him outside the Dakota, where the musician lived with Ono. Chapman has said the Beatle was "very kind" but he was "so compelled to commit murder that nothing would have dragged me away from that building."