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Mark David Chapman (born in Fort Worth, Texas on May 10, 1955Mark David Chapman is a Beatles fan who killed former Beatle John Lennon in 1980.

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Chapman had, during previous stages in his life, been involved in various lifes; he had been addicted to drugs, had become a born-again Christian and had been hospitalized for mental illness. At one time he attended Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He viewed J.D. Salinger's novel as having great personal significance for him, to the extent that he reportedly wished to model his life after the book's antisocial protagonist, Holden Caulfield

Chapman had been a fan of the Beatles, and Lennon in particular, for years. He was driven to madness by what he saw as Lennon's betrayal of the ideals of his generation. Chapman saw himself as a hero, whose purpose is to punish this betrayal. During his nervous breakdown, Chapman became obsessed with Lennon to such a degree that he married an American-Japanese woman because she reminded him of Lennon's wife Yoko Ono. (As of 2005, they were still married). As Chapman's life deteriorated, he began to resent his former hero, condemning him as a "phony" (Caulfield's favorite insult).

At 10:50 p.m. on December 8, 1980, Chapman shot and fatally wounded John Lennon in front of Lennon's residence, the Dakota, at the corner of W 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City. Chapman was carrying a copy of with him at the time.

Earlier that day, Chapman had shaken hands with Lennon and had asked him to autograph his newly purchased copy of Lennon's new album , a request which Lennon obliged. After this encounter, Chapman waited near the Dakota for several hours for Lennon to return, whereupon he called out to the rock star before dropping into a "combat stance" and shooting at him five times, inflicting four wounds. One of the bullets pierced Lennon's aorta, causing severe blood loss. Lennon died around 11:15 p.m of shock after losing more than 80% of his blood.

Chapman has testified that he had traveled to New York once previously with the intention of killing Lennon but had not carried out the act. He has also stated that his actions were a means to get attention, as he had come to view himself as a "no".

Chapman was charged with second degree murder and was found competent to stand trial. Some expected that he would plead insanity; instead, he lodged a guilty plea. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Chapman is currently imprisoned at Attica State Prison, near Buffalo, in upstate New York. For years he had to be separated completely from other prisoners because of concerns for his safety. He is an avid letter-writer and evangelical Christian. Chapman has refused to undergo therapy of any kind while in prison, claiming to have been healed of severe depression by virtue of his fervent Christian beliefs. He has been denied parole three times, in 2000, 2002 and October 2004. There is at least one active church group that petitions to have him released. Prior to his parole hearings, several reports were made of threats to his life by other deranged Lennon fans. Yoko Ono has pleaded for him never to be released and so have many Chapman-hating Lennon fans.

Chapman's experiences during the weekend on which he committed the killing are currently being turned into a feature-length movie called . Actor Jared Leto stars as Chapman along with Lindsay Lohan as a fan of Lennon who befriends him. This film has been met with criticism from many who claim that this type of exposure would serve to grant Chapman the attention he has stated as one of the goals of his action. Others see this as a great opportunity to shed some light on this event and on the circumstances that made Chapman kill his once beloved Beatle.