Theory:Timeline - The Doctor's age

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This page lists the age of the Doctor over the course of the franchise. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline.

The thing I keep banging on about is that he doesn't know what age he is. He's lying. How could he know, unless he's marking it on a wall? He could be 8,000 years old, he could be a million. He has no clue. The calendar will give him no clues.Steven Moffat, SFX, May 2010

First Doctor

The Tenth Doctor recounts being taken to look into the Untempered Schism at the age of 8.
The Doctor left primary school at the age of 45.
The Tenth Doctor recounts going to the Medusa Cascade at the age of age 90, and claims he was "just a kid".
Romana I informs the Fourth Doctor that he has been operating the TARDIS for 523 years, and she claims the Doctor is 759, not 756.
The Doctor claimed to have been travelling in the TARDIS for 60 years, putting his age at 296.
The First Doctor regenerated at 450 years old.

Second Doctor

The Second Doctor supposes he's about 450 years old in "Earth terms."
The Doctor puts his age at a "tender" 500 years.

Third Doctor

The Third Doctor claims his life covers several thousand years. (Later stories would not support this claim.)
The Doctor claims to have been a scientist for several thousand years. (Later stories would not support this claim.) hello jimmy falon

Fourth Doctor

The Fourth Doctor claims to have lived for "something like" 750 years.
The Doctor claims that he is 748 years old.
The Doctor claims to be only 749 years old.
The Doctor notes that he is "much more" than even 150 years old.
The Doctor claims to be only 749 years old, and used to be even younger.
The Doctor claims to be 750 years old.
The Doctor claims to be 756 years old. Romana I insists he is 759.
The Doctor claims to be nearly 760 years old.
The Doctor tells Henry Gordon Jago and George Litefoot that he is 760 years old.
The Doctor tells Celia Soames that he is over 700 years old.
The Doctor is identified as 760 years old.
The Doctor claims to be 730 years old.
After being aged four years due to the chrono-compensator, he decided he would still think himself as 743 or 730, and admitted he couldn't remember.
The Doctor claims to be 813 years old at the time of his regeneration.

Fifth Doctor

The Doctor claims to be 813 years old.
While traveling alone with Nyssa, the Doctor claims to be "about 800" years old.
The Doctor claims to be "pushing 900" years old.

Sixth Doctor

Some 80 years pass between the Doctor's first and second meetings with Becky.
The Doctor claims to be 900 years old.
The Doctor claims to be 900 years old, and in the prime of his life.
The Doctor claims to be over 900 years old.
Flip Jackson says that the Doctor is around 900, but she is not sure on his exact age.
The Doctor has blown out the candles on his 900th birthday cake.
Melanie Bush claims that the Doctor is approximately 900 years old.
The Seventh Doctor claims to be 953 years old immediately after regeneration.

Seventh Doctor

Shortly after his regeneration, the Doctor claims to be 953 years old, and is the same age as the Rani.
While travelling with Ace and Bernice Summerfield, the Doctor claims to be 943.
The Doctor celebrated his 1,000th birthday while travelling with Ace and Bernice Summerfield.
The Doctor estimates that he is at least 1003 years old.
The Doctor notes that he has lived for 900 years.
The Doctor claims "a century or three" has passed since his previous incarnation encountered the Forge.
The scientists estimate, and the Doctor later confirms, that his body was preserved in the Antarctic ice for millions of years.
The Eighth Doctor estimates his previous incarnation regenerated at 1009 years old.

Eighth Doctor

The Doctor believes himself to be 1200. The inconsistency with Vampire Science can be explained by his confusion with his age.
Three years after regeneration, the Eighth Doctor calculates his age to be 1012. He was unsure and might have lost count, and started his age over at his recent regeneration, giving his age as "three" when asked.
The Doctor claims to be 1018 years old.
The Doctor is trapped on Earth for for 111+ years from at least 1890 to 2001, making him at least 1129 years old.
While travelling with Charley Pollard, the Doctor claims to be "950 something" years old.
The Doctor claims to have over 1000 years worth of life experience.
While travelling with Lucie Miller, the Doctor spends 600 years on the planet Orbis. He also mentions that he rounds and adjusts his age based on different year lengths in different parts of the universe, claiming that in one obscure galaxy he would be two years old.

War Doctor

In terms of linear time, the Time War had lasted for 400 years. If the War Doctor lived through all of it, he would have added 400 years to his total age, which he had lost track of in his previous incarnation.
The Eleventh Doctor claims to be "1200 something" years old, and the War Doctor claims to be 400 years younger than him.

Ninth Doctor

The Doctor claims that he is 900 years old.
The Doctor spends 28 years on Earth from 1894 to 1922 to return to Rose.
The Doctor claims to have had 900 years of phone box travel, which would exclude years spent before he traveled in the TARDIS.

Tenth Doctor

The Doctor's age is given as 900.
The Doctor spends nearly 3 years searching for Martha Jones.
The Doctor spends 1 year imprisoned by the Master aboard the Valiant.
The Doctor claims that he is 903 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 904 years old.
Although actually taking ten minutes, to the Doctor it seemed like seven centuries when he was shot with time reaver guns.
The Doctor claims that he is 903 years old.
The Doctor states that he is over 900 years old.
According to conflicting accounts, the Doctor claims that he is 904 or 900 years old.
The Doctor claims to be 900 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 906 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 907 years old fairly soon after regeneration despite claiming to be 906 before regenerating. It is not known how long the Tenth Doctor spent holding off his regeneration, but it was long enough to visit all of his companions. (TV: Death of the Doctor)

Eleventh Doctor

The Doctor admits to himself that he has long since abandoned trying to keep track of his age in any way that mattered to anybody but him.
The Doctor claims that he is 907 years old
The Doctor claims that he is 907 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 908 years old.
Amy says the Doctor was claiming that he was 908 years old last time she saw him.
The Doctor claims that he is 909 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 910 years old.
In the body of Idris, the TARDIS claims to have been with the Doctor for 700 years (despite earlier stories suggesting otherwise), and the Doctor stole her/she stole him in his 200s.
The Doctor claims to have loved bedtime stories about a thousand years ago, when he was George's age of 8 years old.
Just before his "death" at Lake Silencio, the Doctor claims that he is 1103 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is 1200 years old, and has matured.
The Doctor claims that he is 1000 years old, but doesn't know how to fly a plane.
Clara recalls the Doctor telling her that he is 1000 years old.
The Doctor claims to have piloted the TARDIS for 900 years, and was over 200 when he "borrowed" her.
The Eleventh Doctor claims to be "1200 something" years old, but admits he loses track and doesn't remember if he's lying.
During the Siege of Trenzalore, the Doctor claims to be nearly 1500, but he could be a few hundred years off either way.
The Doctor claims to have spent 300 years on Trenzalore before the TARDIS returned to him.
By the time the Mara began attacking the residents of Trenzalore, the Doctor had been there for 750 years, making him 1950.
Right after regeneration, the Twelfth Doctor claims to be over 2000 years old, meaning the Eleventh Doctor spent over 800 years on Trenzalore. (Tales of Trenzalore says he spent 900 years on the planet.)

Twelfth Doctor

The Doctor claims to be over 2000 years old.
The Doctor claims that he is in his early 1000s. Clara says that he is over 2000 years old.
Though she reasons that the Doctor has forgotten, Missy claims to remember that it is his birthday.
The Doctor claims to be over 2000 years old.
The Doctor is in stasis for 139 years from 1980 to 2119. However, he doesn't age physically or mentally during this time.
The Doctor claims to be over 2000 years old, old enough to be humanity's Messiah.
Ohila says the Doctor was in his confession dial for 4.5 billion years. Despite the Doctor creating a new copy of himself for each cycle, at one point he claims: "I can remember it all. Every time."

Well technically, it shouldn't be possible that he remembers. Each time he burns himself up to power the teleport, he prints a new version of the man he was, with only the memories he had on arrival. So what does he mean, when he says he remembers, when he clearly can't? Well first, memory is a funny thing - we manufacture memories all the time. . . . So in that moment when the Doctor figures out the only way to break through the wall is to keep making new versions of himself, and puts it together with the fact that seven thousands years have passed without time travel, and realises that - oh dear God - he's been doing that very thing for a long time, it feels like he remembers.

That's one explanation. Personally, I think there's more to it. Remember, he's trapped inside his own confession dial. The castle chambers, and the monster slouching towards him, are composed of his own worst nightmares, and his nightmares are composed of his worst memories. In a world designed to suck your bad dreams from your mind and feed them back to you, isn't it possible that his worst day - the one he's living right now, again and again - is hanging in the air around him? He's trapped in the Wi-Fi of his bad dreams, and he can't shut them out.

So, yes, I suppose he has 4.5 billion years' worth of memories in his head. But loads of the details are identical, so for the Doctor's sake, let's assume that a lot of data compression is possible!Steven Moffat, DWM 495 (abridged quote), February 2016 [1]

The Doctor admits to Osgood that he has lost track of how old he is.
The Doctor claims to be 4 billion years old.
The Doctor claims to be "only two thousand and... something."
The Doctor and River Song spend their last night together on Darillium.
Bill finds that the Doctor has been at St Luke's University for 50 or even 70 years.
The Doctor claims to be over 2000 years old, and doesn't always want to take the stairs.
The Doctor claims to be 2000 years old.
The Doctor claims to be 2000 years old, at his last count.
Nardole notes that the Doctor is 2000 years old.
The Doctor spends 100 year on the planet Sto after being sent back in time by a Weeping Angel.
Encountering the First Doctor shortly before their respective regenerations, the Doctor comments that 1500 years of "rock and roll" have passed in the interim.

Thirteenth Doctor

The Thirteenth Doctor emerges from regeneration at least 1500 years following the Second Doctor.

Age By Incarnation

Based on evidence and the Doctor's claims, these are estimates on how many years the Doctor spent in each incarnation. These are are based only on times where the Doctor aged mentally and physically. In other words, periods of time where the Doctor was in stasis (AUDIO: Frozen Time, Time Reaver, TV: Before the Flood, et al.) and other unusual circumstances (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Time Witch, TV: Heaven Sent, et al.) will not be counted.

  • 1: ~450 years
  • 2: ~50 years
  • 3: ~250 years
  • 4: ~65 years
  • 5: ~85 years
  • 6: ~55 years
  • 7: ~245 years
  • 8: ~720+ years
  • War: ~400-800 years
  • 9: ~130 years
  • 10: ~6 years
  • 11: ~1200 years
  • 12: ~174-194 years
Based solely on this information, this makes the Doctor's total age ~3830 to ~4250 years.

References

  1. ↑ Production Notes (Steven Moffat Q&A) for Doctor Who Magazine #495
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