John Lennon died 40 years ago today - here are 14 things you might not know about him

John Lennon had a turbulent childhood. His father, Alfred, was a sea merchant and was absent from his life, while his mother, Julia, was tragically killed after being run over by a car outside her sister Mimi's house. It meant that Lennon and his sister, also named Julia, ended up living with Mimi, according to The Independent.

Lennon explored various instruments before eventually landing on the guitar, but Mimi reportedly told him: "The guitar's all right John, but you'll never make a living out of it."

The first instrument John Lennon learned how to play was actually the banjo.

According to Time, "His mother, Julia, had taught him to strum the banjo first. In fact, Lennon originally learned to play his guitar like a banjo, with the sixth string slack."

Lennon also famously played the harmonica on songs like "Love Me Do."

The story goes that Lennon stole the harmonica from a music shop in Arnhem in the Netherlands before crossing the German border to play a show in Hamburg.

Paul McCartney has also admitted that he wrote the song while skipping school.

It was commonly known by friends and musicians in his inner circle that Lennon hated his voice. In 2018, the bassist Klaus Voormann, who collaborated with Lennon on his solo material, confirmed the factoid to Billboard, saying that Lennon's ego always got in the way.

"It was always a mistake," Voormann told Billboard, referring to Lennon's singing. "He hated his voice. He told me he didn't like his voice."

In 2008, George Martin — The Beatles' producer who is often referred to as the "fifth Beatle" — revealed that before Lennon's death in 1980, the musician told him he wished he could re-record every song the band ever produced.

Martin, in absolute disbelief, asked him, "Even 'Strawberry Fields'?" Lennon answered, "Especially 'Strawberry Fields,'" according to Yahoo.

In a biography of The Beatles' first manager, Allan Williams — who sold the band to Brian Epstein for a whopping £9 — author Colin MacFarlane writes that Lennon used to sleep in a coffin, according to the Daily Record. The old coffin was in Williams' coffee bar, and Lennon would sometimes take naps in it, according to the biography.

John and his son Sean — his second son and only child with Yoko Ono — were both born on October 9, in 1940 and 1975, respectively.

Not only does Sean look like his father, he also followed in John's footsteps and became a musician. He currently tours with Primus bassist Les Claypool in the band The Claypool Lennon Delirium.

According to a 2018 BBC article, Sean Lennon didn't find out his dad was a Beatle from the man himself. Instead, he figured it out after seeing a cartoon version of John in "Yellow Submarine," which was playing on the TV at a friend's house. When he got home, Sean had some questions, and John then had to explain to his son why he was on the TV with the rest of The Beatles.

John Lennon was known for his anti-war music, including songs like "Give Peace A Chance" and "Imagine." While fans may have loved them, the Nixon administration apparently did not.

Lennon arrived in New York on a visa in 1971. A memo to the White House by Senator Strom Thurmond suggested the musician might encourage young people to vote against Nixon while on tour, according to NPR. Soon after Lennon's arrival, the FBI put him under surveillance and the Immigration and Naturalization Service tried deporting him a year later.

But, as historian John Weiner, who sifted through the government's documents on Lennon, told NPR, investigating Lennon was a double-edged sword: "At the same time they're worried that, you know, young voters will vote against Nixon for kicking out, you know, the clever Beatle," he told NPR.

Lennon was the last of the four to pass his road exam for good reason: He was a notoriously bad driver and had poor eyesight. Even after earning his license he rarely drove.

His lack of experience became apparent when he was hospitalized following a car accident in 1969. According to the Scottish Herald, the accident happened while Lennon was vacationing in the Scottish Highlands with Yoko, her daughter Kyoko, and his son, Julian. During the trip, Lennon drove his Austin Maxi hatchback off a country road and into a ditch, resulting in all four passengers going to a local hospital. Lennon needed 17 stitches, the BBC reported.

Over the years, the iconic wireframe glasses John Lennon sported became a quintessential part of the musician's wardrobe — so much so that they are still called "Lennon glasses" today.

But Lennon didn't wear the spectacles for fashion; they helped correct his severe near-sightedness. Gary Tracy, a New York City optometrist, started working with Lennon in 1975 and produced over a dozen of his signature frames.

Tracy has a collection of mementos from his time working with Lennon, including handwritten instructions and drawings explaining exactly how he wanted his glasses tinted, according to a 2011 dna info article.

In a 2018 interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, McCartney revealed that Lennon was insecure about his legacy.

"I remember him once particularly strangely, out of the blue, saying, 'I worry about how people are going to remember me, " McCartney told 60 Minutes. "And I was like, 'John listen to me, look at me. You're going to be remembered as one of the greatest people.'"

Like many stars, John Lennon had his personal battles. For a period of time, the musician struggled with depression and his weight.

Lennon told Playboy in 1980, "When 'Help' came out in '65, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it's just a fast rock 'n roll song. I didn't realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. It was my fat Elvis period ... I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for help."

Though he made music his career, art was a life-long passion of Lennon's and was often described as his first love. According to Art Of John Lennon, from 1957 to 1960 he studied art at the Liverpool Art Institute.

Following The Beatles' break up, Lennon returned his focus to drawing and created numerous collections of sketches and lithographs, including portrayals of his marriage to Yoko Ono, their bed-in protest, and a collection of erotic scenes. Perhaps his most famous drawing is this simple self-portrait which lives on today on T-shirts, harmonicas, and on the covers of books containing his artwork.

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