Theory:Timeline - President of the United States

This page lists Presidents of the United States in chronological the order. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories.

Years given for their presidency are the ones confirmed by DWU stories.

18th century

 * 1. George Washington
 * 'Oh, my word! You're George Washington!' (PROSE: The Revolutionaries)


 * 2. John Adams
 * DOCTOR: Jefferson isn't a girl's name. It's not her name either. Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. River.
 * RIVER: Surnames of three of America's founding fathers. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)

19th century

 * 3. 1804: Thomas Jefferson
 * "As has been recorded elsewhere, as late as 1804 Thomas Jefferson – the greatest mind of the age, according to some – genuinely believed that there were giant woolly mammoths living in the American midwest, on one occasion even sending a party to search for them." (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street)


 * 7. Andrew Jackson
 * 'The Whigs, since they couldn't find out what it meant, said that OK was President Jackson's abbreviation for all correct.' (PROSE: System Shock)


 * 8. 1840: Martin Van Buren
 * 'In the 1840 American presidential campaign, OK was the secret name for the New York Democrat clubs. It stood for Old Kinderhook, which was the home of Martin Van Buren.' (PROSE: System Shock)


 * 15. 1860: James Buchanan
 * "President Buchanan is perceived as being friendlier to the South than Mr Lincoln." (PROSE: Blood and Hope)


 * 16. c. 1861-1865: Abraham Lincoln
 * "I spoke with Pa today. No matter what the rumors say, he reckons there’s no way Lincoln being voted President will split the country like some folks are saying." (PROSE: Blood and Hope)
 * LINCOLN: Civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We've come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live. (TV: The Chase)
 * SUMMARY: Ford's Theatre, Washington. Friday, 14th April, 1865. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln. (AUDIO: Assassin in the Limelight)


 * 18. Ulysses S. Grant
 * GENERAL GRANT: No doubt about it, Mr. President — This map confirms and elaborates our other information. (COMIC: Backtime)
 * "From U.S. Grant to R.E. Lee - Appomattox Court House, Virginia - April 9th, 1865" (PROSE: Blood and Hope)
 * NOTE: Technically, no stories reference his presidency.


 * 21. 18XX Chester A. Arthur
 * "A rare nineteenth-century letter written to Chester A. Arthur, later the twenty first President of the United States." (PROSE: The Sommerton Fetch)


 * 22. 1880s: Grover Cleveland
 * ‘But I get the feeling the old psychic paper could tell Sheriff Blaine I was President Grover Cleveland himself, and he’d still give me the bum’s rush.’ (PROSE: Peacemaker)


 * 24. 1880s: Grover Cleveland
 * NOTE: Second term, non-consecutive.


 * 25. William McKinley
 * "The Doctor had been at Dunkirk, sailed around the Caribbean in a pirate galleon and had watched the assassination of President McKinley, but they were nothing compared to this - the writing of one of the most significant and well-known pieces of literature in the history of mankind." (PROSE: Byzantium!)

20th century

 * 26. Theodore Roosevelt
 * "White was still the pessimist, now declaiming in a loud voice that civilisation had not been saved by Theodore Roosevelt or Winston Churchill, in fact just the opposite." (PROSE: The Turing Test)
 * NOTE: It is possible the author meant Franklin D. Roosevelt.


 * 28. 1915: Woodrow Wilson
 * "Within ten minutes, Woodrow Wilson had consulted with his chiefs of staff in the war room, and decided to go ahead with the contingency plan." (PROSE: White Darkness)


 * 30. 1920s: Calvin Coolidge
 * "As you know, Calvin Coolidge, our beloved President, has announced that he feels unable to stand for a further term. With elections on the horizon the party has been forced to cast round for a suitable candidate. Its eyes have fallen upon Chicago." (PROSE: Blood Harvest)
 * NOTE: The synopsis places this novel in 1929, which would make this line inaccurate.


 * 31. 1929-1930: Herbert Hoover
 * DOCTOR: Herbert Hoover, thirty-first President of the USA, came to power a year ago. Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then.
 * MARTHA: The Wall Street Crash, yeah? When was that, 1929? (TV: Daleks in Manhattan)


 * 32. 1940-1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt
 * "For the moment President Roosevelt was keeping America out of the war. For the moment." (PROSE: Illegal Alien)
 * "He had become President on Roosevelt’s death in 1945 and attended the Potsdam Conference, joining with Churchill and Stalin to settle the destiny of post-war Europe." (PROSE: Endgame)


 * 33. 1945-1951: Harry S. Truman
 * Truman had been a small-time politician, a state senator, and an unexpected choice for Roosevelt’s Vice-President. He had become President on Roosevelt’s death in 1945 and attended the Potsdam Conference, joining with Churchill and Stalin to settle the destiny of post-war Europe. (PROSE: Endgame)


 * 34. 1957-1958: Dwight D. Eisenhower
 * 'Didn't President Eisenhower himself give you the orders when he came to welcome EBE-1 to America?' (PROSE: First Frontier)
 * DOCTOR: Does President Eisenhower know about this plan? (TV: Dreamland)
 * "The general had been touching down in Washington at the time of the Russian raid, and had been personally informed about it by a furious President Eisenhower." (PROSE: Loving the Alien)


 * 35. c. 1961-1963: John F. Kennedy
 * "The Texas trip was the first time Jackie had accompanied him on a political visit anywhere within America since his election back in 1960." [Historically correct part in James Stevens' fictional opening.] (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)
 * CLIVE: November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. (TV: Rose)


 * 36. 1963-1969: Lyndon B. Johnson
 * "There was no trial, and when new President Lyndon Johnson set up a tribunal to investigate the matter, the Warren Commission decided that Oswald had acted alone." (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)
 * ‘President Johnson would besmirch the Klan’s name with wild accusations based on speculation.' (PROSE: Salvation)
 * " It is understood that President Johnson used the ‘hotline’ to call Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev." (PROSE: Revolution Man)


 * 37. 1969-1974: Richard Nixon
 * NIXON: But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask. Will I be remembered? (TV: The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon)
 * NIXON: Good evening, my fellow Americans... (COMIC: In With the Tide)


 * 38. 1975: Gerald Ford
 * "I had a vague memory of an old actor almost wresting the Republican nomination from Gerald Ford when he was up for re-election." (PROSE: The Assassin's Story)
 * 'I don't imagine President Ford was just saving money. And I think New York will need bailing out more than just financially after today.' (PROSE: Presence)


 * 39. 1979: Jimmy Carter
 * 'I think you'll find, Doctor: I said, 'that Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer.' (PROSE: The Assassin's Story)
 * ‘What’s the year? 1996. Starting from the 1970s, how does it go? Let’s see. . . Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Dering, Springsteen, Norris. . . ’ (PROSE: Interference - Book One)


 * 40. 1981: Ronald Reagan
 * "On 30 March 1981, Ronald Reagan lay bleeding outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC." (PROSE: The Assassin's Story)


 * 41. George H. W. Bush
 * NOTE: H. W. Bush is seen with President Clinton in TV: Rosa.


 * At this point, the numbering of presidents starts to conflict with the real world.


 * 1994: President Carrol
 * "I am a biologist in actual fact, but I was given the rank of Commander by President Carrol in the White House, only since Army personnel are permitted to take part in space flights."
 * NOTE: The list from Interference - Book One omits President Carrol. (PROSE: Rennigan's Record)


 * 1996-1999: Bill Clinton
 * He said, ' "The attacks were just part of President Clinton's election campaign." '
 * I looked up. If his voice was bitter, his expression was tragic. 'You're quoting Masaud Barzani - 1996. The Intervention.' (PROSE: Eternity Weeps)
 * 'But the Guardian is like, say, your American President, Billy: he's associated with the Federation but Guardian of a subset, in this case your solar system.' Sam could see he was enjoying his own lecture as well. 'And rather like President Clinton,' (PROSE: Placebo Effect)
 * DOCTOR: And in June 1999, Rosa receives the Congressional Medal from President Clinton, the highest award given to any civilian, recognising her as a living icon for freedom. (TV: Rosa)


 * 1998-1999: Tom Dering
 * "The circular presidential seal was woven into the carpet. Tom Dering stared at a point just above the eagle's head as Angela Palmer dabbed at his forehead with her powder puff." (PROSE: Option Lock)
 * "By the time he got to speak to President Dering, his sense of occasion was tempered by his anxiety about whether the battery in the satellite phone he had commandeered from the US Embassy would last." (PROSE: Millennium Shock)
 * NOTE: Conflicts with years given for Bill Clinton.

21st century

 * 2000: George W. Bush
 * "No matter how sympathetic Lauren felt towards George, she had to remain objective ... In all the interviews she'd seen, President Bush had a full head of grey hair. He wasn't Krusty the Clown!" (PROSE: Cyberon)
 * "...the [robot] presidents were brutal. Nixon and Hoover in particular seemed less concerned with subduing people than leaving them broken. Bush just looked confused." (PROSE: Why? Because We Like You)
 * QUOTE? (AUDIO: Iris Wildthyme and the Claws of Santa)
 * NOTE: In the real world, George W. Bush was elected in 2000 and inaugurated in 2001.


 * 2003: Bruce Springsteen
 * "...who together made a bigger hullabaloo than Springsteen did even before he was elected President."
 * 'Who in their right minds elects a rock-star president of a major world government, anyway?' (PROSE: Eternity Weeps)


 * 200X: Chuck Norris
 * "Looking back on it, those had been the good years. They had also been the years when President Norris launched the economic opportunity initiative."
 * ‘Normally I never talk about those two subjects. But listen. Do you think the president will go to hell?’
 * ‘Well, what do you think?’ said Christian. ‘Is Chuck going to hell?’ (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead)


 * 2006: Unnamed
 * NEWS ANCHOR: The President will address the nation live from the White House, but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies. (Aliens of London)
 * BLAKE: I'm getting demands from Washington, ma'am. The President's insisting that he take control of the situation.
 * HARRIET: You can tell the President, and please use these exact words, he's not my boss, and he's certainly not turning this into a war. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
 * NOTE: This president would be Arthur C. Winters if he were elected in 2004.


 * 2008: Arthur C. Winters
 * WINTERS: My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, president-elect of the United States of America, and designated representative of the United Nations.
 * NOTE: Winters' claiming to be president-elect would not be possible in spring 2008 nor would a president-elect have presidential duties. This was a mistake on the part of Russell T. Davies and could be taken as a slip of the tongue from an in-universe standpoint.


 * 2008: Winters' Vice President
 * NOTE: While not explicitly outlined, Winter's Vice President would ascend to the presidency after his death.


 * 2009-2016: Barack Obama
 * YAZ: And in 53 years (from 1955) they'll have a black President as leader. (TV: Rosa)
 * "Late '09. -- Post-stolen Earth scenario, pre-fusion development, Obama's in power, oil reserves are almost depleted -- and the Mayan calendar is about to run out." (COMIC: Ghosts of the Northern Line)
 * AMN NEWS: And now, anticipation is rising as we go live to Washington. Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the worldwide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity. (TV: The End of Time)
 * "Andy showed me a printed newspaper with a date of August 2016 ... A voice accompanied the pictures. ‘President Obama has condemned Donald Trump as being an unsuitable candidate for President.’" (PROSE: Buccaneer)


 * 2009:
 * OBAMA-MASTER: I'm President. President of the United States. Look at me! Ooo, financial solution. Deleted. Ha ha!


 * c. 201X: Felix Mather
 * "The Doctor racked his brains. ‘Ah yes. 1989. I stole your space shuttle.’"
 * "Malady looked at the Doctor. He must have been about ten at the time." (PROSE: Trading Futures)


 * c. 200X-201X: Sampson
 * "Ted O'Brien has been a senator for forty years. Ken Gribbin has been Vice-President for eight ... But Gribbin has a remarkably low profile for a Veep, especially one in such a popular administration. Partly that’s because President Sampson has used him as the administration’s attack dog and little else" (PROSE: Head of State)


 * c. 201X: Matt Nelson
 * NOTE: Assassinated at his inauguration. (PROSE: Head of State)


 * c. 201X: "Lola Denison"
 * NOTE: Vice President of Matt Nelson. Accended to the presidency after his assassination. (PROSE: Head of State)


 * 2017-2020: Donald Trump
 * BILL: I don't know the President. How would I know the President? I mean, I wouldn't even have voted for him. He's... orange. (TV: The Pyramid at the End of the World)
 * NOTE: It would stand to reason that this unnamed president is Donald Trump, who is said to be running for president in PROSE: Buccaneer, What She Does Next Will Astound You and is seen in TV: The Lie of the Land and mentioned by the Doctor in TV: The Doctor Falls.
 * JADE: I've heard you're only running cos you've hated Trump for decades. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
 * QUOTE? (PROSE: The Edge of Glory)


 * 2049?: Courtney Woods
 * CLARA: I don't know! The President of America.
 * DOCTOR: Oh, take something off his plate. He makes far too many decisions anyway.
 * LUNDVIK: She.
 * DOCTOR: Well, she really is something special now, isn't she? First woman on the moon, saved the Earth from itself, and, rather bizarrely, she becomes the President of the United States. (TV: Kill the Moon)

Broken Web of Time

 * Benjamin Franklin
 * CHARLEY: Benjamin Franklin? The American president?
 * DOCTOR: President… scientist… magician. In those days you were allowed to be president and still be interesting. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear)

Germania XII

 * Richard A. Russell
 * Most expressed sentiments like those of President Richard A. Russell of Germania XII: 'The United States will survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty, surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship.' (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia)

A Germania

 * J. P. Kennedy
 * President Kennedy, "JPK", as the Americans fondly knew him, had made overtures to Hitler and his regime. Some years before, this man had stated: 'Strong anti-Semitic tendencies existed in the United States and a large portion of the population had an understanding of the German attitude to the Jews.' (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia)

Shadow World

 * 2017: Unnamed
 * NEWS CHYRON: Total Communications Blackout at White House - The President has not been seen for at least 12 hours.
 * BILL: Hello, Doctor. Is that the President?
 * DOCTOR: It was. (TV: Extremis)

Parallel universe

 * Unnamed
 * QUOTE? (AUDIO: The Flood)

Dawn 1027

 * 203X: Unnamed
 * “Mr. President, will you apologize on behalf of all other world leaders for the negligence of the meteor’s potential threat to Earth?”
 * Cwej lost interest at this point. He observed the seething crowd of reporters, mentally noting that each of the people attending this conference wore clothes very indicative of the 21st century, most likely the mid-2030s by the looks of the cameras they were using. (PROSE: A Bright White Crack)