1938

October

 * 30 - Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre perform an adaptation of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds on CBS Radio. The broadcast causes a nationwide panic. Although calm soon settles as America realizes it was only a play, unknown to the public some elements of the production were based on actual events. (BFA: Invaders from Mars)

Unknown dates

 * Nancy gives birth to Jamie. Being an unwed teenaged mother, she pretends that Jamie is her little brother. (DW: The Empty Child)
 * Adolf Hitler obtains the Validium Arrow, one of the key components of the Nemesis statue. Around the same time, the Nemesis statue passes Earth, heralding Hitler's annexation of Austria and the coming outbreak of World War II. (DW: Silver Nemesis)
 * In what becomes known as "the Cambridge University Fiasco," an archaeological team attempts and fails to open the Devil's Hump. (DW: The Dæmons)
 * Mr. Bayles begins working as a butcher in Crook Marsham. (NA: Nightshade)
 * Joe Louis beats German heavyweight challenger Max Schmeling in a New York boxing match. Cody McBride is amongst the spectators. (PDA: Illegal Alien)

January

 * 21 - John Savident is born.
 * 28 - Christopher Coll is born.

February

 * 18 - Jon Pertwee makes his film debut in a bit part in the Robert Taylor film A Yank at Oxford.

May

 * 29 - Barry Jackson, who played Drax and several other guest characters on Doctor Who, is born in Birmingham, England.

June

 * 18 - Michael Sheard, who portrayed many memorable characters in one-off roles on Doctor Who, is born in Aberdeen, Scotland.
 * 28 - John Tillinger, who played Simon Duval in DW: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, is born in Tabriz, Iran.

September

 * 17 - Richard Kane, who played Valmar in DW: The Power of the Daleks is born in Birmingham.

October

 * 30 - Orson Welles' real-life radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds occurs. It inspires the Big Finish Productions audio story BFA: Invaders from Mars.

November

 * 1 - Frances White, who played Cassandra in DW: The Myth Makers, is born in Leeds.

December

 * 9 - Director Waris Hussein is born. In 1963 he would direct the first-ever Doctor Who story, DW: An Unearthly Child.

Unknown date

 * David Weston, who played Nicholas Muss in DW: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve and leonine mesomorph Biroc in DW: Warriors' Gate, is born.