Video: 'WABC-TV CH 7 NYC JOHN LENNON TRIBUTE 12-14-80 PT 1'

(Sunday, December 14, 1980, 2:00 p.m. EST; following the Murder of John Lennon) — In silence and in song, Beatles fans around the world paid final tribute today in parks, plazas and even parking lots, to John Lennon, who was murdered by a deranged fan on Dec. 8, 1980, outside his New York City apartment building.

Video: 'WABC-TV CH 7 NYC JOHN LENNON TRIBUTE 12-14-80 PT 2'

Hundreds of silent vigils were organized after Yoko Ono, widow of the 40-year-old musician, asked people to “pray for John’s soul” by observing 10 minutes of silence “wherever you are” at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Video: 'WABC-TV CH 7 NYC JOHN LENNON TRIBUTE 12-14-80 PT 3'

By far, the largest vigil took place in New York’s Central Park, not far from The Dakota apartment building where Lennon was slain. Over 225,000 people, some of them waiting since Saturday, stretched across the concrete walks and grossly slopes near the Naumburg Bandshell and Mall at 72nd Street — a gathering that for many evoked memories of anti-war demonstrations held at the same spot in the 1960s.

Video: '10-Minute-Silence for John Lennon (1980) - New York'

In Lennon’s hometown of Liverpool, England, Sam Leach, one of The Beatles’ first promoters, led 25,000 mourners in a seven-hour tribute to Lennon outside Liverpool’s St. George’s Hall.

Video: 'John Lennon memorial-Central Park December 1980'

At the conclusion of the worldwide vigil, Ono released the following statement: “Bless you for your tears and prayers. I saw John smiling in the sky. I saw sorrow changing into clarity. I saw all of us becoming one mind. Thank you. Love, Yoko.”

Video: 'John Lennon Central Park Vigil 12/14/1980 WNBC New York'