1962

Events

• A Dalek soldier, last survivor of the Last Great Time War between its race and the Time Lords, falls through time and crashes like a meteorite "on the Ascension Islands.". The Dalek lies in its burning crater for three days, screaming the entire time, before it is retrieved. Its weapon systems inactive and its outer armour heavily damaged, the Dalek is sold at private auction and passes through several hands over the next fifty years. (DW: Dalek)
• Benjamin Wainwright, husband of time-displaced Kathy Nightingale, died. (DW: Blink)
• The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler visit the Village of Lower Dowham and meddle in a plan to make the entire village disappear. (DWA: No One Died)
• October - Section Eight uses the dark arts to end the Cuban Missile Crisis. (PDA: Heart of TARDIS)

Behind the scenes

April

• 25 - Donald Wilson, head of Serial Drama for BBC TV, receives a four-page report from the BBC Survey Group discussing whether the production of an in-house science-fiction TV series is feasible and warranted. According to the BBC Archives, this was the spark of what eventually led to the commissioning of Doctor Who.

June

• 30 - Out of This World debuts on ITV. This science fiction series, created by Irene Shubik and overseen by Sydney Newman, was considered a precursor to Doctor Who and also features episodes written by Terry Nation and other Doctor Who alumni.

July

• 25 - Donald Wilson receives a follow-up report from the BBC Survey Group discussing potential story ideas for a BBC-produced science fiction series. The report includes synopses of several science fiction novels, including the time-travel-based The Guardians of Time by Poul Anderson.

August

• 20 - Sophie Aldred (Ace) was born at Greenwich, London.
• 24 - Gordon Warnecke was born.
• 25 - Jessica Martin was born.

October

• 11 - Nicola Bryant (Perpugilliam Brown) was born in Guildford, Surrey.

November

• 10 - "The Mauritius Penny", an episode of The Avengers (created by Sydney Newman) airs in the UK. It is the earliest writing credit in the Internet Movie Database attributed to future Doctor Who stalwart Terrance Dicks.

December

• 12 - Sydney Newman began his tenure as Head of Drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian had previously served in this capacity with the ABC production house (broadcasting on ITV), during which time he had been credited with creating The Avengers, and the first UK-produced science fiction anthology series, Out of This World.

Unknown Date

• Julian Bleach, who played the Ghostmaker in TW: From Out of the Rain and Davros in DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, was born in Bournemouth.