Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) murdered John Lennon on the night of December 8, 1980, in front of Lennon's residence, the Dakota Building, at the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan.

At various points in his life, Mark Chapman was a drug-addict, a born-again Christian, and a hospitalized mental patient. At one time he attended Covenant College in Georgia. He viewed the novel The Catcher in the Rye by novelist J.D. Salinger as having great personal significance, and had a copy with him when he killed Lennon.

Earlier in the day, Chapman had shaken hands with Sean Lennon and secured an autograph from John Lennon. He then remained in waiting for several hours for John to return, whereupon he shot at him five times, inflicting four wounds.

He was charged with second degree murder and was found competent to stand trial. It was expected that he would plead insanity; instead, he lodged a guilty plea.

He is currently incarcerated at Attica State Prison, near Buffalo, New York. He has been denied parole three times, in 2000 and 2002, and again in October, 2004. Before his parole hearings there have been issued several, more or less defined, threats on his life if he should be released.