1979

February

 * 17 - China invades Vietnam. This one of the events that inspires the Doctor to describe 1979 as "a hell of a year" (DW: Tooth and Claw).

May

 * Margaret Thatcher leads the UK Conservative Party to power in the general election. (REF: The Time Traveller's Almanac)

July

 * The US space station Skylab returns to Earth, with a little help from the Doctor. (REF: The Time Traveller's Almanac)

October

 * Skagra goes to Earth in search of Salyavin. (DW: Shada)
 * The first The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book is published, launching the franchise into the mainstream media on Earth. The Doctor was a fan. (DW: Ghost Light and The Christmas Invasion)
 * A Kaftakkrofakian called Cecil transforms everyone at a Halloween party to Zombies, leaving only one survivor. (DWA: Zombie Motel)

November

 * 21 - Ian Dury and the Blockheads perform in concert at Sheffield, England. The Doctor attempts to take Rose to this concert when they instead end up in 1879 Scotland. Although a previous incarnation described 1979 as a "table wine year" (DW: City of Death), it appears to have aged well as the Doctor now calls 1979 "a hell of a year". (DW: Tooth and Claw)

Unknown Date

 * Rose Tyler may have attended a concert by ABBA at Wembley Stadium in London (unconfirmed). (DW: Attack of the Graske; the canonicity of this interactive mini-episode is unclear)
 * The Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris by Count Scarlioni. Around this time, the Doctor and Romana arrive in Paris for a visit.
 * Dr. Lavinia Smith moves from South Croydon to Moreton Harwood (KAC: A Girl's Best Friend).
 * John Benton leaves the army and UNIT, and takes a job selling second-hand cars (DW: Mawdryn Undead).

January

 * 1 - Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) is born.
 * 6 - DW: The Power of Kroll Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 13 -DW: The Power of Kroll Episode 4 is first broadcast.
 * 16 - Peter Butterworth, who played the Meddling Monk, dies from an apparent heart attack in Coventry.
 * 18 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear is first published.
 * 20 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 1 is first broadcast. Lalla Ward makes her first appearance on Doctor Who, playing Princess Astra. This episode is promoted as the 500th episode of Doctor Who.
 * 27 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 2 is first broadcast.

February

 * 3 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 10 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 4 is first broadcast.
 * 17 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 5 is first broadcast.
 * 24 - DW: The Armageddon Factor Episode 6 is first broadcast, concluding Season 16 and the Key to Time arc. Mary Tamm leaves the series after this episode as does, temporarily, John Leeson (another actor will take over the voiceovers for K-9 for Season 17, although the character doesn't appear on screen again until DW: The Creature from the Pit. Leeson will return for Season 18.)

March

 * 29 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy is first published.

April

 * American editions of DWN: Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and DWN: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon published by Pinnacle Books. Over the next year, Pinnacle would publish US editions of 10 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 includes an introduction by SF author Harlan Ellison, as well as a brief primer on the Doctor and his companions.

April/May

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

May

 * 24 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Robots of Death is first published.
 * DWN: Junior Doctor Who and the Giant Robot is first published. 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 are 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 are published by Pinnacle Books.

July

 * 6 - Malcolm Hulke dies.
 * 26 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl is first published.
 * 31 - Beatrix Lehmann dies.

September

 * Doctor Who Annual 1980 published.
 * 1 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 1 is first broadcast, marking the debut of Season 17. Lalla Ward returns to the series as the newly regenerated Romana. Although a new voice actor for K-9 has been cast, the character does not appear in the serial.
 * 8 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 2 is first broadcast.
 * 9 - Publication of REF: The Adventures of K9 and Other Mechanical Creatures by Terrance Dicks.
 * 15 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 22 - DW: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 4 is first broadcast. Last Doctor Who episode written by Terry Nation.
 * 25 - DWN: Doctor Who and the War Games is first published.
 * 29 - DW: City of Death Episode 1 is first broadcast. Partially filmed in Paris, it is the first Doctor Who episode to have been produced outside the UK.
 * American edition of DWN: Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang published by Pinnacle Books.
 * Prior to October, the Doctor Who comic strip in TV Comic is discontinued to make way for the strip to be featured in the new Doctor Who Weekly.

October

 * A story record version of DW: Genesis of the Daleks, with original TV dialogue and sound effects and with newly recorded narration by Tom Baker, is released.
 * 6 - DW: City of Death Episode 2 is 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 is first published.
 * 13 - DW: City of Death Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 17 - John Stuart, who had an uncredited role as a Didonian in DW: The Rescue, dies in London.
 * First issue of Doctor Who Weekly (later named Doctor Who Monthly and Doctor Who Magazine) released; the long-running DWM comic strip also makes its debut. Both would continue to be published 30 years later.
 * 20 - DW: City of Death Episode 4 is first broadcast.
 * 27 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Episode 1 is first broadcast. David Brierley debuts as the new voice of K-9, the character having been absent since the end of DW: The Armageddon Factor.
 * 30 - Graham Ashley (the Overseer in DW: The Underwater Menace) dies.

November

 * Early November - John Nathan-Turner officially begins his 10-year stint as producer of Doctor Who (he is not involved in the production of the season currently underway). Among the changes he implements for the coming season is 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 will be Tom Baker's last as the Doctor.
 * 3 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Episode 2 is first broadcast.
 * 10 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 17 - DW: The Creature from the Pit Episode 4 is first broadcast.
 * 20 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks is first published.
 * 24 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Episode 1 is first broadcast.
 * American edition of DWN: Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora published by Pinnacle Books.

December

 * 1 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Episode 2 is first broadcast.
 * 8 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Episode 3 is first broadcast.
 * 11 - DWN: Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation is first published.
 * 15 - DW: Nightmare of Eden Episode 4 is first broadcast.
 * 22 - DW: The Horns of Nimon Episode 1 is first broadcast.
 * 29 - DW: The Horns of Nimon Episode 2 is first broadcast.
 * Lalla Ward appears on Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.

Unknown dates

 * Labour action forces production to be halted on the six-episode serial, DW: Shada. Ultimately, it is decided to abandon the serial, which signaled a premature end for the 1979-80 season with DW: The Horns of Nimon.
 * REF: Terry Nation's Dalek Special First Published. This Target Books trade paperback release, edited by Terrance Dicks, includes the novella Daleks: The Secret Invasion, written by Terry Nation, which is 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 includes a synopsis of DW: Destiny of the Daleks it can be surmised it was probably published after that serial was broadcast.