Doctor Who Chronology: The 1960s

Barbara and Ian find the TARDIS in I.M. Foreman's scrapyard at 76 Totter's Lane. And the adventure begins...

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Or travel backward through time to the early 20th Century (1900-1959).

1960

March 23: American columnist and humourist Franklin Adams dies.

The year of Adams' death is mentioned in "The Seeds of Doom" (DW1).

The 4th Doctor visits Professor Chronotis at St Cedd's College in Cambridge. While there, he receives an honorary degree.

"Shada" (DW1).

"The Rings of Akhaten (DW2)".

1961

Margaret Blaine is born. By 2006, she will become a senior member of MI5; she will also be killed and replaced by Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen.

A newspaper article in "Boom Town" (DW2) (2006) gives the real Margaret Blaine's age (had she still been alive) as 45.

Professor Stahlman begins work which will eventually lead to the creation of the project to be known as "Inferno".

"Eleven years" before "Inferno" (DW1) (1972).

A single Dalek, time-tossed survivor of the Time War against the Time Lords, falls to Earth, landing on Ascension Island in the south Atlantic Ocean. It burns... and screams... in a crater for three days before anyone can approach it. Over the years, it is sold at auction, passing from collector to collector, before ending up in the hands of American billionaire Henry van Stratton in the 21st century.

"More than fifty years" before "Dalek" (DW2) (2012).

On Skaro, after an anticipated great rainfall does not come, the group of Thals led by Temmosus leave their plateau in search of a major source of food.

"The Daleks" (DW1). Susan says this is "two years" before the story's present (1963); later Alydon refers to the event as "over a year [ago]".

1962

January 11: Meredith Roberts is born. In 2008, he will be a Pharm test subject for the drug Reset.

"Reset" (TW).

Rani Ghosh is born. He will become one of Suzie Costello's murder victims in 2007.

Rani is 45 when he is killed not long before "Everything Changes" (TW) (2007).

Benjamin Wainwright dies, leaving behind his widow, Katherine.

Seen on his tombstone in "Blink" (DW2).

August: During the August bank holiday, Minnie "the Menace" Hooper is arrested for "misbehaving" and finds herself locked in a police box.

"The End of Time" (DW2).

1963

On the planet Marinus, Arbitan, the Keeper of the Conscience, sends his daughter Sabetha in search of the Keys to the Conscience. She only makes it as far as the city of Morphoton. Here, she is given "the thing she desires most" (one of the Keys), but is subsequently mentally enslaved by the brain-creatures who rule the city.

Also on Marinus, the hunter-trapper Vason breaks a wolf's back with his bare hands.

Both events happened a year before "The Keys of Marinus" (DW1) (1964).

March: On Skaro, the radiation level near a Dalek city is measured at 96 units.

"200 days" before "The Daleks" (DW1).

March 29: A young lady named Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lewis is raped and murdered by her date, Ed Morgan. The crime remains unsolved until 2007 when Owen Harper of Torchwood accidentally uses a quantum transducer to witness the assault.

"Ghost Machine" (TW).

May-October: The 1st Doctor and Susan arrive in London. Susan enrolls at Coal Hill School. Despite her clearly superior intelligence, her schoolwork begins to suffer over the next several months, prompting her history teacher, Barbara Wright, to visit Susan's grandfather at 76 Totter's Lane. She finds only a scrapyard. Susan also piques the interest of her science teacher, Ian Chesterton. At some point during their stay in this time, the Doctor arranges to have the stellar manipulator, the Hand of Omega, disguised as a coffin, stored in a funeral parlour, intending to have it buried.

These events all take place in the five months leading up to "100 000 BC" (DW1). The Hand of Omega is from "Remembrance of the Daleks" (DW1).

Smithers begins his work on the insecticide DN6, while businessman Forester .

A year before "Planet of Giants" (DW1) (1964).

A song by John Smith and the Common Men goes from 19 to 2 on the U.K. music charts.

Shortly before "100 000 BC" (DW1).

October: 100 000 BC (DW1) 1, 4: Schoolteachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton investigate their student Susan's background, discover the TARDIS and encounter Susan's grandfather, the 1st Doctor. After heated argument between the teachers and the Doctor, the Doctor decides that he and Susan must leave this time, taking the schoolteachers away with him to protect his secret. After a harrowing visit to prehistoric times, the travellers return to this time, but on the planet of Skaro rather than Earth.

Contemporary story. The year is confirmed by Ian during the prehistoric segments of the story. The October dating comes from "Remembrance of the Daleks" (DW1), which takes place in November, several weeks after this story. For the placement of the Skaro segment at the end of the adventure, see the next listing.

October: The Daleks (DW) 1-7: On Skaro, the 1st Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian encounter a city of Daleks, who plan on irradiating the planet, making it uninhabitable to any other life forms. The time-travellers aid a group of Thals in their struggle against the Daleks, immobilising the inhabitants of the city.

This is a tricky story to date. These Daleks and Thals seem largely unaware of the history of their peoples as presented in most subsequent Dalek stories. About the only thing we can know for certain is that it takes place some time before "Planet of the Daleks" (DW1) in 2540, as events from this story are mentioned then. We can certainly discount the Doctor's remark in "Dalek Invasion of Earth" (DW1) that this story takes place "a million years in the future". Instead, I'm assuming that the Doctor was able to return his unwilling passengers to the correct time period (the TARDIS does seem to tend towards landing in the program's "present") but on the wrong world.

Over the next month, two time-travelling, warring factions of Daleks begin to investigate the area around Foreman's scrapyard and Coal Hill School in an effort to gain control over the Hand of Omega. The "Imperial Daleks", led by their Emperor, Davros, take control of the school from their ship in orbit over the Earth. Meanwhile, the "Renegade Daleks", strike a bargain with Mr. Ratcliffe and his fascist organization, the Association.

The British army, with the help of scientific advisor Rachel Jensen, detect magnetic fluctuations caused by the Daleks' activities, and an investigation into their origin begins in earnest.

All during the month between "100 000 BC" (DW1) and "Remembrance of the Daleks" (DW1).

November: Remembrance of the Daleks (DW) 1-4: The 7th Doctor and Ace are caught between the two factions of warring Daleks, as the aliens vie for control of the Hand of Omega. After Davros' group wipes out the Renegade faction, the Doctor allows the Hand to fall into the Daleks' possession. When it is activated, the Hand, acting on the Doctor's pre-programmed orders, travels forwards through time and destroys the Dalek homeworld of Skaro. Feedback from the explosion also destroys the Dalek ship in this time, although Davros flees in an escape pod.

The Doctor and Ace both refer to "1963" and a calendar shows the month to be November.

November 22: US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald, an event heralded by the Nemesis statue's passing over the Earth. The 9th Doctor is present in the crowd witnessing the shooting.

The Doctor links the Nemesis' appearance with this real historical event in "Silver Nemesis" (DW1). The 9th Doctor's presence established in "Rose" (DW2).

1964

The Keys of Marinus (DW) 1-6: On the planet Marinus, the 1st Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara encounter Arbitan, the Keeper of the Conscience of Marinus. The Conscience is a mental manipulation device formerly used to keep peace on Marinus. Fearing that the evil Voords, led by Yartek, seek to control the device, Arbitan forces the time-travellers to travel the planet and retrieve the four micro-circuits, or Keys, needed to run the Conscience, to prevent them falling into Yartek's hands.

After returning with the Keys, the Doctor and his companions discover that Arbitan has been killed by the Voords. Ian manages to sabotage the Conscience, destroying it, along with the Voords.

Story assumed to be contemporary.

The Aztecs (DW) 1: The TARDIS leaves the planet Marinus.

This short scene follows directly on from "The Keys of Marinus" (DW1).

July 12: The Beatles sell out the Brighton Hippodrome Theatre on the first leg of their Summer 1964 UK.

A real event featured in a headline seen on the newspaper shown in "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" (SJA).

July 13: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (SJA) 1-2: Maria Jackson briefly appears in this time and meets a 13 year-old Sarah Jane Smith and Andrea Yates before being pulled fully out of time by a Graske. Shortly after, Sarah Jane and Andrea explored a dilapidated pier which collapses, causing Andrea to fall into the water and drown. An alternative timeline is created when the Trickster makes a deal with Andrea to trade places with Sarah; this will, unknown to Andrea, threaten to destroy the world in 2008. When the 2008 Andrea takes back the deal, time returns to its original sequence.

Maria confirms the date in the day's newspaper.

Sarah Jane is deeply affected by Andrea's death, showing her how precious life is and inspiring her to defend it.

"Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" (SJA).

Planet of Giants (DW1) 1-3: After a problem with the TARDIS reduces them to an inch in size, the 1st Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian discover a ruthless businessman, Forester, and his misguided scientist colleague, Smithers, plan to launch the insecticide DN6, a product so destructive that it would kill not only those insects harmful to agriculture but also those vital to it. Despite their miniature size, the travellers manage to attract the attention of the police, putting an end to Forester's plans, before restoring themselves to their correct proportions.

Contemporary adventure.

Erato, the high ambassador of the planet Tythonus, arrives on the planet Chloris to negotiate a trade agreement between the two worlds. The first person he encounters is the Lady Adrasta, who is unwilling to give up her metal monopoly on the mineral-poor world. As a result, she steals Erato's communications device and has the ambassador, a several-hundred foot wide blob, placed in a pit he cannot escape. Unknown to her, Erato's ship begins sending out a distress signal to his people, who will eventually send a neutron star to destroy Chloris.

"15 years" before "The Creature from the Pit" (DW1) (1979).

The 4th Doctor once again visits Professor Chronotis at St Cedd's College.

"Shada" (DW1).

The horror film The Gorgon, starring Christopher Lee and Barbara Shelley, is released. In 2008, when Beatrice Nelson-Stanley talks about her encounter with Gorgons, her fellow nursing home resident Mrs. Randall assumes she is referring to this movie.

The film is name-checked in "Eye of the Gorgon" (SJA).

The village of Foxgrove, Hertfordshire, is demolished to make way for the A7665 motorway.

"The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith" (SJA).

1965

During a weekend in Brighton, Doris gives Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart a wristwatch as a "mark of her gratitude."

Eleven years prior to "Planet of the Spiders: (DW1) (1976).

April 15: The Chase (DW1) 1: The Beatles perform their single "Ticket to Ride" in a concert on BBC1. This transmission is viewed by the 1st Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Vicki using a Space-Time Visualiser.

Vicki gives the broadcast's year as 1965 and the clip is indeed from that year, specifically the April 15 episode of "Top of the Pops."

The Chase (DW1) 6: Ian and Barbara return to their native time on Earth in a Dalek time-machine, and explore London after destroying the ship.

After verifying the date on a car tax disc, Ian declares that they have landed in 1965.

Bricked up in the servant's pantry of Caliburn House is discovered a stash of cans of Spam left by soldiers stationed there during World War II as offerings to the Witch of the Well ghosts that haunts the House. With the cans is also found hand-written notes, addressed to the ghosts, including one reading "For the love of God, stop screaming."

"Hide" (DW2).

A species known only as "the 456", named for a radio wavelength they communicate through, secretly make contact with the government of the United Kingdom. The 456 inform the humans that a strain of the Idonesian flu will mutate with the next four months, killing up to 22 million people, a fact then verified by Earth scientists. The aliens also offer an anti-virus to stop the mutations... in exchange for twelve human children.

Sometime prior to "Children of Earth" (TW).

November: Children of Earth (TW) Days 1, 3-4: The government agrees to the exchange with the 456, an mysterious alien race indentified only by the frequency allocation through which they communicate, "456". Twelve orphans from the Holly Tree Lodge orphanage in Scotland are taken to a remote location, where they are handed over to the 456. Despite one child, Clement MacDonald, escaping, the 456 give the humans the formula for the anti-virus. Among those chosen to hand the children over to the aliens is Torchwood's Jack Harkness.

The year is given in a caption, as well as referred to repeatedly (along with the month) in the 21st century part of the story.

October 17: The television quiz show "Call My Bluff" begins airing on the BBC 2. A deadly version of this program will be broadcast in the far future through the Game Station.

The deadly version of the show is mentioned in "Bad Wolf" (DW2).

December 25: The Daleks' Master Plan (DW1) 6-7: While fleeing the Daleks, the 1st Doctor, Steven and Sara Kingdom stop briefly in Liverpool on Christmas Day. While there, they do some repair work on the TARDIS scanner, but not before a misunderstanding with the local police.

Contemporary setting. One policemen specifically refers to it being Christmas Day.

1966

January 1: The Daleks' Master Plan (DW1) 8: Fleeing through time from the Daleks, the 1st Doctor, Steven and Sara Kingdom encounter the Monk on the young, volcanic world of Tigus, then briefly stop in Trafalgar Square during New Year's celebrations.

Contemporary scene; confirmed by the Daleks' tracking the TARDIS as the year "1-9-6-6". Given its placement on New Year's Day, this scene oddly comes chronologically before the earlier cricket match scene in the same episode. (Placement of Tigus scene here for convenience's sake, as it leads directly into the New Year's moments; no obvious dating hints, so placing it contemporary as well.)

The Daleks' Master Plan (DW1) 8: The 1st Doctor, Steven and Sara Kingdom briefly land the TARDIS in the middle of a cricket match, causing some short-lived confusion.

Contemporary scene.

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (DW1) 4: On Wimbledon Common, the 1st Doctor and Steven inadvertently pick up a new crew member, Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet.

Contemporary scene. In "The War Machines" (DW1), Dodo notes that the Post Office Tower is finally opened, placing this scene before the Tower's opening in May of 1966.

The Ark (DW1) 4: The 1st Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in the Celestial Toymaker's realm.

Leads directly into "The Celestial Toymaker" (DW1).

The Celestial Toymaker (DW1) 1-4: The 1st Doctor, Steven and Dodo are pulled into the Celestial Toymaker's realm and forced to play the Toymaker's games to get the TARDIS back. They all succeed at their games, destroying the Toymaker's realm as they leave.

No dating clues; assumed contemporary.

The Chase (DW1) 3: While fleeing the Daleks through time and space, the 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki stop briefly on the Empire State Building in New York. After they leave, the Daleks also quickly stop there, before resuming their chase.

Morton Dill that confirms that it is "1966". In Alabama, anyways...

July: Much to his dismay, sailor Ben Jackson begins a six-month shore posting, while his ship continues on to the West Indies.

A week before "The War Machines" (DW1).

July 12-20: The War Machines (DW1) 1-4: The 1st Doctor and Dodo encounter a super-computer called WOTAN, which has decided only it can run the world efficiently. From its home atop London's Post Office Tower, WOTAN hypnotizes several people, including the scientists who built it, and Dodo. The Doctor discovers Dodo's hypnotised state and sends her to the country for a rest. Meanwhile, WOTAN has robots, dubbed War Machines, built to take over London. The Doctor defeats them with the help of sailor Ben Jackson, and Polly, one of the scientist's secretary. Dodo stays behind, and Ben and Polly join the Doctor in his travels.

The story beings four days before "C-day", which is given as July 16th. The date for the story's end is given as July 20, 1966, in the following adventure, "The Faceless Ones" (DW1).

July: The Five Doctors (DW1): While waiting for Dodo to recover from her ordeal, the 1st Doctor visits a garden, where he is abducted by Borusa and temporarily brought to Gallifrey.

During the final episode of "The War Machines" (DW1). Placement here is conjecture. This is one time when the 1st Doctor is likely to be by himself, between companions as it were.

July 20: The Smugglers (DW1) 1: The 1st Doctor, Polly and Ben leave in the TARDIS.

This scene follows immediately from the ending of "The War Machines" (DW1).

July 20: The Faceless Ones (DW1) 1-6: Later the same day, Polly and Ben return in the company of the 2nd Doctor and Jamie, arriving at Gatwick Airport. The time-travellers stumble onto a plot by a group of alien "Chameleons", a race that have lost their faces and their identities after a catastrophe on their home world. The aliens have set up their own airline, Chameleon Tours, a front they use to abduct thousands of young people and steal their identities. With the help of the Gatwick Airport authorities, the plan is foiled and the kidnapped passengers are released.

Discovering their are once again in their own time, Polly and Ben decide to leave the Doctor's company.

The date is specifically given in the last episode, where it is also revealed that this is the same day Polly and Ben left with the Doctor in "The War Machines" (DW1).

July 20: The Evil of the Daleks (DW1) 1-2: The 2nd Doctor and Jamie discover that the TARDIS has gone missing. Their search for the ship leads them to Professor Edward Waterfield's antique shop, where, on behalf of the Daleks, Waterfield captures the time-travellers and sends them to 1866.

This story continues on directly from "The Faceless Ones" (DW1).

September 8: The science fiction television series "Star Trek" premieres on NBC, featuring the alien character, Mr. Spock.

In "The Empty Child" (DW2), Rose accuses the Doctor's technology tracking methods of being "not very Spock", thus comfirming that one of the greatest SF series ever exists in the universe of another of the greatest SF series ever. The show was also referred to in "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW2).

Tobias Vaughn, owner and managing director of International Electromatics (IE), somehow makes contact with a fleet of Cybermen ships in deep space and joins them in an alliance to take control of the Earth. Vaughn and the Cybermen prepare the invasion over the next five years, while making IE the world's leading electronics company (possibly with the help of Cybertechnology), with products in homes and business across the globe. Vaughn also submits himself to partial Cyber-conversion, giving him a robotic body, but keeping his human mind intact.

"Five years" before "The Invasion" (DW1) (1971).

November 15: Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown in born.

Peri's birthdate appears on her passport in "Planet of Fire" (DW1).

1967

Februrary 1: Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Prentice, the future mother of Rose Tyler, is born.

The alternate Jackie celebrates her 40th birthday (although calling it her 39th) in "Rise of the Cybermen" (DW2) (2007). Presumably, the mainstream Jackie shares the same birthday. Jackie's full name is given in "Father's Day" (DW2).

While working on a missile guidance system, Doctor Fendelman begins work on his "sonic time scanner", which will eventually lead him to the Fendahl's skull buried in Kenya.

"Ten years" before "Image of the Fendahl" (DW1) (1977).

Graystark Hall Orphanage officially closes. However, the Hall is secretly taken over by the Silence and young Melody Pond is placed in residence there, along with a number of aliens affiliated with the Silence. The Hall's director, Doctor Renfrew, is kept on but, due to the aliens' influence, constantly forgets time passing and will believe it to still be 1967 even in two years' time.

"Day of the Moon" (DW2).

Max Tresilian, a future victim of Suzie Costello's machinations, is born. Also around this time, a Resurrection Gauntlet falls through the Cardiff Rift and lands in Cardiff Bay, where it will lay until Torchwood retrieves it.

"40 years" before "They Keep Killing Suzie" (TW) (2007).

Brendan Richards, the future ward of Lavinia Smith, is born.

Brendan is 14 at the time of "A Girl's Best Friend" (K9) (1981).

December: The motion picture The Graduate is released. The film features an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, seducing a younger man. The 11th Doctor would teasingly refer to River Song as "Mrs. Robinson".

The Doctor gave River this "code name" in "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW2).

1968

January 2: Future actor Cuba Gooding, Jr., is born in New York City. The official biography of a parallel reality's Jackie Tyler gives her birthdate as the same.

"Rise of the Cybermen" (DW2). (This is a bit odd, given that Jackie celebrates her birthday on Februrary 1st. The year is a deliberate fabrication, but no reason is given why the exact day would be altered.)

The Web of Fear (DW1) 1-6: Due to tinkering done by Professor Edward Travers on artifacts he obtained in Tibet in the 1930s, the Great Intelligence is able to gain control over a number of Yeti robots and (partly inspired by its encounter with the 11th Doctor in 1892) take over the London Underground; the city is evacuated and the British Army called in to deal with the menace, aided by Travers and his daughter Anne.

The 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Victoria find the TARDIS pulled to the Underground by the Intelligence, which plans on absorbing the Doctor's knowledge. Alongside the Traverses and the British Army (including a Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart), they beat the Intelligence. The entity, however, manages to escape destruction.

For story dating, see The Trouble with UNIT. The Doctor's accidental inspiring the Intelligence's scheme is from "The Snowmen" (DW2).

Over the next few years, in response to events like the London Underground Yeti attack, the United Nations forms the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), a military organisation whose mandate is to investigate and combat paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to the Earth. UNIT Central Command is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.N. Security Council also establishes an official First Contact Policy.

For his work combating the Yeti, Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart is promoted to Brigadier and placed in command of the United Kingdom branch of UNIT.

In the years between "The Web of Fear" (DW1) and "The Invasion" (DW1). The First Contact Policy is established in "The Sound of Drums" (DW2).

A Euro Sea Gas natural gas refinery run by John Robson experiences a regular build up of fall in pressure, culminating in a loss of communication with one of its drilling rigs.

In the three weeks leading up to "Fury From the Deep" (DW1).

Fury From the Deep (DW1) 1-6: The 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Victoria come to the aid of the Euro Sea Gas refinery. They discover that a form of parasitic, ambulatory seaweed has taken control of the drilling rigs' crews, as well as some of the refinery personnel, including refinery head Robson. The weed plans to spread itself across the globe. The Doctor discovers that the plant is vulnerable to loud, highly-pitched sound, and uses Victoria's amplified screaming to destroy it.

Weary of adventuring with the Doctor, Victoria decides to remain with the Harrises, a couple living and working on the refinery.

Assumed contemporary.

The Wheel in Space (DW1) 1: The 2nd Doctor and Jamie leave Earth in the TARDIS.

Follows immediately from "Fury From the Deep" (DW1).

The Meddling Monk deposits 200 pounds in a bank in England.

"The Time Meddler" (DW1).

The 19th Summer Olympic Games are held in Mexico City, Mexico.

As mentioned in "The Underwater Menace" (DW1).

The Dominators (DW1) 1-5: A Dominator ship lands on the planet Dulkis. The Dominators on board, Navigationer Rago and Probationer Toba, with the assistance of their robots, the Quarks, plan to turn the planet into a radioactive mass to fuel a Dominator fleet. The 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe help the Dulcians turn the invaders' "nuclear fission seed" against the Dominators' ship, destroying it and foiling the scheme.

No connection to Earth history. Assumed contemporary.

The Mind Robber (DW1) 1-5: Attempting to escape from a volcanic eruption on Dulkis, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe use the TARDIS' "emergency unit" to take themselves outside of normal time and space. As a result, they find themselves in another dimension inhabited by fictional creations from Earth's past and future. Those who rule this land of fiction need the mind and imagination of a humanoid mind to fuel their world. Their current "Master" has gotten old the Doctor is chosen as a replacement. The Doctor and his companions manage to overload the unseen rulers' machines, allowing them to escape.

Continues directly from "The Dominators" (DW1). Assumed contemporary.

When World War I solider Tommy Brockless is taken out of cryo freeze for his annual check-up by Torchwood, he is delighted to discover that mini-skirts are in fashion.

"To The Last Man" (TW).

Lucia Moretti joins Torchwood.

"Children of Earth" (TW).

1969

January 30: The Beatles hold an unannounced concert on the rooftop of the headquarters to Apple Records in Savile Row, London. During the concert, the band temporarily slips through time to 2008, due to the splintering of time in that year.

As mentioned on the news ticker seen in "End of Days" (TW).

The Krotons (DW1) 1-4: On an unnamed planet, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe encounter the Krotons and the Gonds. The Krotons are crystalline life-form who have treated the Gonds as slaves for thousands of years, periodically taking the smartest Gonds and using their mental energy to build up power for their ship for eventual lift-off. By using Zoe and the Doctor's mental energy, the Kroton ship is ready to depart, but the lift-off will destroy the Gond village. The Doctor teaches the Gonds the chemistry they lack to create an acid that is used to destroy the Krotons and their ship before it can destroy the Gond settlement.

No relation to Earth's history or future; assumed contemporary.

February: FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III is forced to quit the bureau over his intention to marry a black man.

"Six weeks" before "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW1), with some details supplied in "Day of the Moon" (DW2).

March: No matter where he is, United States President Richard Nixon begins receiving a phone call every day from a frightened child.

"Two weeks" before "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW1).

April 8: The Impossible Astronaut (DW1): The 11th Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song meet US President Richard Nixon. Aided by ex-FBI agent Canton Delaware, the time-travellers track down the child who has been calling Nixon every day. Tracing the call to Florida, they discover a large amount of alien technology and a vast network of tunnels that apparently spread across the planet, unnoticed by humankind. While they also encounter several Silence aliens, they immediately forget the experiences.

They also find the young girl (who is, unknown to any of them, Amy and Rory's future child, Melody), apparently trapped in a NASA spacesuit moving of its own volition. Believing this to be the "impossible astronaut" who will kill the Doctor in 2011, Amy shoots at the child, but misses.

The exact date is given in dialogue.

In the chaos after Amy's attempt to shoot the little girl and another appearance by the Silence, the time-travellers make a hasty retreat.

Immediately after "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW1), as seen in flashback in "Day of the Moon" (DW2).

Over the next three months, the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River repeatedly encounter the Silence across America, trying desperately to remember the events. The Silence manipulate the US government into declaring the travellers criminals, forcing them to spend this time on the run from the authorities, including Canton Delaware, who is secretly working the Doctor and his allies. The Doctor is eventually caught and held prisoner in Area 51.

Between "The Impossible Astronaut" (DW2) and "Day of the Moon" (DW2).

The 10th Doctor and Martha are stranded in this time by the Weeping Angels, separated from the TARDIS. Fortunately, they have been given notes about the occurrence by Sally Sparrow in 2008 and know that, if they send messages to Sally in 2007, she will be able to send the TARDIS back to them. Martha gets a job in a shop to support herself and the Doctor, while the Doctor works out what must be done.

Before "Blink" (DW2).

Blink (DW2): Detective Inspector Billy Shipton arrives in this time from 2007. He encounters the 10th Doctor and Martha, who explain that Billy is a victim of the Weeping Angels, thrown back in time, and that he will have to live the rest of his life from this point in time onwards. The Doctor asks Billy to give Sally Sparrow a message when he once again reaches 2007 as an old man.

The Doctor gives the year. It is also made clear that this is before the Moon landing in July.

Sometime after their encounter with Billy Shipton, and thanks to the efforts of Sally Sparrow, the TARDIS arrives from 2007, and the 10th Doctor and Martha are able to leave 1969.

After "Blink" (DW2).

July: Day of the Moon (DW2): Amy and Rory allow themselves to be captured and, with Canton Delaware's help, reunite with the Doctor in Area 51. They escape, retrieve River, and together continue their campaign to free the human race from the influence of the Silence aliens.

When Canton and Amy visit the Graystark Hall Orphanage to find out the child in the spacesuit's connection to events, Canton is able to capture one of the aliens. He manipulates the alien into speaking the phrase "You should kill us on sight" as makes a video recording of it. The Doctor permanently embeds this command in the footage of Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon. As a result, anybody who ever sees the Moon footage will follow a post-hypnotic suggestion and destroy any of the aliens that they encounter (although they will never remember doing so), thus ending the aliens' hold on the human race.

"Three months" after "The Impossible Astronuat" (DW2). Dialog confirms the date as "July" and the events end on July 20, the date of the Moon landing.

July 20: The lunar module Eagle lands on Earth's Moon and American astronauts Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. become the first humans to walk on the Moon. The 10th Doctor and Martha watch the event no less than four times.

As mentioned in "Blink" (DW2).

November: Clangers, a stop motion animated children's television series about a family of mouse-like creatures who live on a small blue planet in dark space and speak in whistles, debuts on the BBC. The Master will later mistake the program for a actual depiction of "a rather interesting extraterrestrial lifeform".

The Master makes this mistake in "The Sea Devils" (DW1).

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