1961

History of the Doctor Who Universe

 * Yuri Gagarin was the first Human to travel in space, at least officially. (DW: The Seeds of Death).
 * UNIT's predecessor, Great Britain's ICMG is formed. Group leader Ian Gilmore begins training his men. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy)

January

 * 7 - The Avengers debuts on British television. The series was devised by Sydney Newman, who would next go on to create Doctor Who.

May

 * 17 - Corey Johnson who played Henry Van Statten in Dalek is born in America.

December

 * 12 - 'Sarah Sutton, who played companion Nyssa, is born.
 * 19 - Matthew Waterhouse, who played companion Adric, is born at Hertford, England, UK.

Unknown dates

 * Mark Strickson, who portrayed companion Vislor Turlough, is born at Stratford-upon-Avon.
 * Steven Moffat, the acclaimed writer and Doctor Who Executive Producer and head writer is born in Paisley, Scotland.