1979

The Fourth Doctor described 1979 as a "table wine year" (DW: City of Death), while his tenth incarnation referred to it as "a hell of a year" (DW: Tooth and Claw).

At some point in this year, the Fourth Doctor and Romana visited Paris and Count Scarlioni stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. (DW: City of Death)

February

 * 17 February - China invaded Vietnam. (DW: Tooth and Claw, known history)

October

 * Skagra went to Earth in search of Salyavin. (DW: Shada)
 * A Kaftakkrofakian called Cecil transformed everyone at a Halloween party into zombies, leaving only one survivor. (DWS: Zombie Motel)

November

 * 21 - Ian Dury and the Blockheads performed in concert at Sheffield, England. The Tenth Doctor attempted to take Rose Tyler to this concert. They instead ended up in Scotland in 1879. (DW: Tooth and Claw)

Unknown dates

 * According to the Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler attended a concert by ABBA at Wembley Stadium. (VG: Attack of the Graske)
 * Dr. Lavinia Smith moved from South Croydon to Moreton Harwood. (KAC: A Girl's Best Friend)
 * John Benton left the army and UNIT. He took a job selling second-hand cars. (DW: Mawdryn Undead)
 * Paul Brown, father of Peri Brown, died in a boating accident. (PDA: Synthespians™)
 * The last surviving members of the Luron attempted to invade Earth but their plan was thwarted by the Fourth Doctor and Leela. (BFA: The Valley of Death)

January

 * 06 - DW: The Power of Kroll Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 13 -DW: The Power of Kroll Part 4 was first broadcast.
 * 16 - Peter Butterworth, who played the Monk, died from an apparent heart attack in Coventry.
 * 18 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear was first published.
 * 20 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 1 was first broadcast. Lalla Ward made her first appearance on Doctor Who, playing Princess Astra. This Part was promoted as the five hundredth episode of Doctor Who.
 * 27 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 2 was first broadcast.

February

 * 03 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 10 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 4 was first broadcast.
 * 17 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 5 was first broadcast.
 * 24 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Part 6 was first broadcast, concluding Season 16 and the Key to Time arc. Mary Tamm left the series after this episode as did, temporarily, John Leeson. (Another actor took over the voiceovers for K9 for Season 17, although the character didn't appear on screen again until DW: The Creature from the Pit. Leeson returned for Season 18.)

March

 * 20 - Freema Agyeman, who played Martha Jones, was born.
 * 29 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy was first published.

April

 * American editions of DWN: Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and DWN: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon were published by Pinnacle Books. Over the next year, Pinnacle published US editions of ten Target Books novelisations, most slightly reedited for American readers, with some of the more British terms (such as "jelly baby") replaced with American terms. Each book included an introduction by SF author Harlan Ellison, as well as a brief primer on the Doctor and his companions.

April/May

 * 30 April to 3 May - Filming for DW: City of Death took place in Paris, marking the first time Doctor Who was filmed outside the United Kingdom.

May

 * 24 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Robots of Death was first published.
 * DWN: Junior Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was first published. It was the first of two attempts by Terrance Dicks at releasing versions of his novelisations for young readers.
 * American editions of DWN: Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion and DWN: Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks were published by Pinnacle Books.

June

 * American editions of DWN: Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster and DWN: Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen were published by Pinnacle Books.

July

 * 06 - Malcolm Hulke, who wrote several scripts for Doctor Who, died.
 * 26 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl was first published.
 * 31 - Beatrix Lehmann (Amelia Rumford in DW: The Stones of Blood) died.

September

 * Doctor Who Annual 1980 published.
 * 01 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Part 1 was first broadcast, marking the debut of Season 17. Lalla Ward returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana. Although a new voice actor for K9 had been cast, the character did not appear in the serial.
 * 08 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Part 2 was first broadcast.
 * 09 - REF: The Adventures of K9 and Other Mechanical Creatures by Terrance Dicks was published.
 * 15 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 22 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Part 4 was first broadcast. It was the last Doctor Who episode written by Terry Nation.
 * 25 - DWN: Doctor Who and the War Games was first published.
 * 29 - DW: City of Death Part 1 was first broadcast. Partially filmed in Paris, it was the first Doctor Who episode to be produced outside the UK.
 * The American edition of DWN: Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang was published by Pinnacle Books.
 * Prior to October, the Doctor Who comic strip in TV Comic was discontinued to make way for the strip to be featured in the new Doctor Who Weekly.

October

 * A (vinyl) story record version of DW: Genesis of the Daleks, with original TV dialogue, sound effects and newly recorded narration by Tom Baker, was released.
 * 06 - DW: City of Death Part 2 was first broadcast.
 * 12 - In the midst of his TV script for City of Death being broadcast, Douglas Adams' first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was first published.
 * 13 - DW: City of Death Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 17 - John Stuart, who had an uncredited role as a Didonian in DW: The Rescue, died in London.
 * The first issue of Doctor Who Weekly (later Doctor Who Monthly and Doctor Who Magazine) was released; the long-running DWM comic strip also made its debut. Both were still published more than thirty years later.
 * 20 - DW: City of Death Part 4 was first broadcast.
 * 24 - DWM 2 was released.
 * 27 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Part 1 was first broadcast. David Brierley debuted as the new voice of K9, the character having been absent since the end of DW: The Armageddon Factor.
 * 30 - Graham Ashley (the Overseer in DW: The Underwater Menace) died.

November

 * Early November - John Nathan-Turner officially began his ten-year stint as producer of Doctor Who (he was not involved in the production of the season then underway). Among the changes he implemented for the coming season was the introduction of a new arrangement of the theme song by Peter Howell, an updated opening credits sequence, and the announcement that the 1980-81 season would be Tom Baker's last as the Doctor.
 * 03 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Part 2 was first broadcast.
 * 10 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 17 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Part 4 was first broadcast.
 * 20 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks was first published.
 * 24 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Part 1 was first broadcast.
 * The American edition of DWN: Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora was published by Pinnacle Books.

December

 * 01 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Part 2 was first broadcast.
 * 07 - Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released. It was the first in a series of Star Trek films and the first of six to feature the cast of the original series.
 * 08 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Part 3 was first broadcast.
 * 11 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation was first published.
 * 15 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Part 4 was first broadcast.
 * 22 - DW: The Horns of Nimon Part 1 was first broadcast.
 * 29 - DW: The Horns of Nimon Part 2 was first broadcast.
 * Lalla Ward appeared on Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.

Unknown dates

 * Labour action forced production to be halted on the six-part serial DW: Shada. Ultimately, it was decided to abandon the serial, which signalled a premature end for the 1979-80 season with DW: The Horns of Nimon.
 * REF: Terry Nation's Dalek Special was first published. This Target Books trade paperback release, edited by Terrance Dicks, included the novella Daleks: The Secret Invasion, written by Terry Nation, which was the first piece of original Doctor Who-related fiction to be published by Target, as well as Nation's only fiction writing for the company. As the book included a synopsis of DW: Destiny of the Daleks, it can be surmised it was probably published after that serial was broadcast.