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[Li H'Sen Chang, Master of Magic]

Doctor Who Chronology: Modern History (17th to 19th Centuries)

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1600

The Doctor transcribes parts of Hamlet for William Shakespeare.

"City of Death." Exact date is conjecture. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in either 1600 or 1601.

1603

The Doctor shares a cell with Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower of London. He keeps going on about some new vegetable he's discovered.

"The Mind of Evil." Exact date is conjecture. This is the beginning of Raleigh's stay.

1606

Richard Maynarde is born.

According to his tomb in "Silver Nemesis," Maynarde is 51 when he dies in 1657.

1608

Galileo Galilei constructs the first astronomical telescope.

Historical records and "The Masque of Mandragora."

1621

The Lady Peinforte poisons her neighbour Dorothea Remington as revenge for Remington stealing Peinforte's cook.

"Silver Nemesis."

1630

In Tibet, the Det-Sen monastery is attacked by outsiders. During the course of the attack, the Doctor befriends Padmasambhava, who entrusts the Doctor with the monks' ghanta, a bell-shaped holy relic.

"The Abominable Snowmen."

1633

During the Thirty Years' War, soldiers are taken by the War Lords to do combat in the War Games in 1969. The Time Lords return them to their proper time.

"The War Games." Exact date is conjecture. The Thirty Years' War ran from 1618 to 1648; this is the half-way point.

1638

November 23: The Doctor and a group of Roundheads battle Lady Peinforte for possession of the statue Nemesis, which Peinforte has made in her own image from an amount of the living metal validium. The Doctor launches Nemesis (except for its bow and arrow) into an orbit which will bring it close to Earth every 25 years. The Doctor sets his watch to go off on November 23, 1988, when Nemesis will land on Earth again.

"Silver Nemesis."

Silver Nemesis: 1,3: The Lady Peinforte and her servant Richard Maynarde, unknowingly assisted by Fenric, use arcane knowledge to travel to 1988 in order to retrieve the statue Nemesis. The 7th Doctor and Ace visit a number of times shortly after to investigate and to return Maynarde to his proper time.

Fenric's involvement is revealed in "The Curse of Fenric."

1643

July 13: The English Civil War reaches the village of Little Hodcombe. When the fighting reaches the local church, the psychic energy created in the battle partly revives the Malus, and alien being housed in the church. When the fighting ends, the Malus returns to its dormant state. A villager named Will Chandler hides in a priest hole during the battle and is pulled forward in time to 1984, the next time the Malus revives. He is returned shortly after by the 5th Doctor.

"The Awakening."

1645

Soldiers are taken from the English Civil War by the War Lords to battle in the War Games in 1969. They return shortly after with the help of the Time Lords.

"The War Games." Exact date is conjecture. The English Civil War lasted from 1642 to 1648; this is half-way through the war.

Also during this time, a group of Roundheads is pulled ahead through time by the Master in order to attack a UNIT convoy.

"The Time Monster." Exact date is conjecture.

1657

November 2: Richard Maynarde dies at the age of 51.

The date is on Maynarde's tomb in "Silver Nemesis."

1663

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1666

The Smugglers: 1,2,3,4: The 1st Doctor, Polly and Ben are given the location of a hidden treasure, which is being sought by a pirate called Captain Pike. Pike and his men are stopped by the travellers, with the help of Revenue Officer Josiah Blake.

A ship of escaped Terileptil convicts is caught in a meteor shower; as a result, the ship is captured by Earth's gravity.

Just before "The Visitation."

August/September: The Visitation: 1,2,3,4: The 5th Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, with the help of highwayman/actor Richard Mace, prevent a group of Terileptils from spreading a more virulent strain of the Plague in order to have Earth for themselves. The virus is destroyed but, in the process, the Great Fire of London is started.

The Great Fire of London began the night of September 2/3. The opening scenes of the story takes place "a few weeks" before the rest.

September: The Great Fire of London destroys large parts of the walled city. Somehow, an earlier incarnation of the Doctor is blamed by some people.

Historical records. The Doctor's blame is established in "Pyramids of Mars."

1677

John Wallace gives a paper on sympathetic vibration to the Royal Society.

"The Happiness Patrol."

1680

Time Lord criminal Salyavian retires to St Cedd's College in Cambridge after escaping from Shada. He will live in the same rooms for at least the next 300 years.

300 years before "Shada" (1980).

1683

About this time, the Eternals kidnap the crew of a pirate ship for their 1983 race through the solar system.

"Enlightenment." Exact date is conjecture; sometime in the 17th century.

1684

The Gore Crow Hotel is built.

The date is seen on the capstone of the hotel's fireplace in "Battlefield."

1688

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1701

The future-Doctor Thomas Borlase is born. He will eventually survey the Nine Travellers stone circle in 1754.

"The Stones of Blood."

1713

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1736

Under the influence of the Great Intelligence, Padmasambhava begins construction of the robot Yeti in Tibet.

"Almost 200 years" before "The Abominable Snowmen" (1935).

1738

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1745

While fighting each other, several Redcoats and Highlanders are taken by the War Lords to fight in the War Games in 1969. They are returned by the Time Lords.

"The War Games." The Redcoat Jamie encounters says he is from this year and presumably the other Redcoats and Highlanders are from the same time.

1746

April 16: Colin McLaren gives his daughter Kirsty the ring of Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart before going into battle at Culloden. At that battle, Bonnie Prince Charles and his followers, including Jamie McCrimmon, are defeated by the English.

Just before "The Highlanders."

The Highlanders: 1,2,3,4: The 2nd Doctor, Ben and Polly encounter a group of highlanders, including a young piper named Jamie McCrimmon, who have just come from the Battle of Culloden. Ben, Jamie and several other Scots are taken by English soldiers and sold as slaves aboard a pirate ship. The Doctor and Polly help the captives gain their freedom and take over the ship. Jamie joins the time-travellers when they leave.

The War Games: 10: Jamie is returned to his native time by the Time Lords, with no memory of his travels with the Doctor.

1754

Dr. Thomas Borlase is killed while surveying a stone circle called the Nine Travellers, when one of the stones apparently falls on him, crushing him to death.

"The Stones of Blood."

1763

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1773

The village of Devil's End becomes notorious when the black magic activities of the Third Lord of Aldbourne are revealed.

200 years before "The Dæmons."

1776

The American Revolutionary War begins. The Rani is present at some point during the conflict in order to extract chemicals from some of the participants' brains.

Historical records. The Rani's presence is established in "The Mark of the Rani."

1783

On Manussa, the Mara are accidentally created by the Manussans when their negative emotions are focused through the crystal known as the Great Mind's Eye, giving those feelings physical form.

The Great Mind's Eye is approximately 800 years old by the time of "Snakedance" (2583)..

1788

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth. Also, Nemesis' bow is stolen from Windsor Castle in this year.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1789

July 14: An enraged mob storms the Bastille in Paris, signaling the start of the French Revolution.

Historical records and "The Reign of Terror."

1790

Future inventor George Stephenson, aged nine, begins working in coal mines.

In "The Mark of the Rani," Stephenson says he first started working "down t'pit at nine." Stephenson was born in 1781.

1793

In the English village of Devil's End, Sir Percival Flint attempts an excavation of the barrow, Devil's Hump. It ends in failure when his workers flee the site in terror.

"The Dæmons."

October 31: In France, Maxmilien Robespierre has the group of revolutionaries known as the Girondists executed.

Historical records and "The Reign of Terror."

1794

April 5: In France, Robespierre has fellow revolutionary Georges Danton executed.

Historical records and "The Reign of Terror."

May: Leon Colbert's cell of French Revolutionaries learn of the presence of British spy James Stirling.

Two months before "The Reign of Terror."

July: The Reign of Terror: A Land of Fear; Guests of Madame Guillotine; A Change of Identity; The Tyrant of France; A Bargain of Necessity; Prisoners of Conciergerie: The 1st Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian are caught up in the events of the French Revolution while helping British spy James Stirling.

1796

On the planet Dulkis, the 7th Council, under Director Manus, approves plans of exploration in the field of atomic research. After a test on a secluded island proves devastating, research into atomic energy is abandoned. A museum is set up on the island to warn future generations of the dangers of atomic power.

172 years before "The Dominators" (1968).

1809

April 8: Joseph Sundvik is born.

From the gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

Many soldiers are taken from their own time during the Napoleonic Wars by the War Lords to do battle in the War Games in 1969. They are returned by the Time Lords.

"The War Games." Exact date is conjecture. This was a particularly busy year during the Napoleonic Wars.

1813

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1820

July 3: Florence Sundvik is born.

The date is seen on a gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

The Nine Travellers stone circle is surveyed by the Reverend Thomas Bright.

"The Stones of Blood."

1822

On the island of Fang Rock, a unknown creature which will come to be called "the Beast of Fang Rock," kills two lighthouse keepers and drives a third insane.

Eighty years before "Horror of Fang Rock."

German author Jacob Grimm formulates the principle of consonantal shift.

Historical records and "State of Decay."

The Mark of the Rani: 1,2 ("long" episodes) or 1,2,3,4 ("short" episodes): A renegade Time Lord, the Rani, is present in Killingworth, England during the Industrial Revolution, withdrawing certain chemicals she needs from the brains of miners; this causes them to behave violently. The Master is also present, intending to abduct a number of geniuses gathering in the same area. The 6th Doctor and Peri arrive and sabotage both plans, trapping both renegades in the Rani's sobtaged TARDIS.

This story is difficult to date due to several historical inaccuracies. For example, Edison was born well after the time of the Luddite uprisings. I have decided to opt for Lance Parkin's date of 1822.

1838

The Doctor attends Queen Victoria's coronation.

Historical records. The Doctor's presence is established in "The Curse of Peladon."

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1839

The Chinese Fowling Piece which will eventually be owned by Professor Litefoot is last fired at this time.

50 years before "The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

1851

The Great Exhibition, the first world's fair, is held in London's Hyde Park. The 5th Doctor attempted to begin Nyssa and Tegan here for a visit, but failed.

Historical records. The Doctor's attempt to visit is from "Time-Flight."

The schooner America crosses the Altlantic Ocean in seventeen days.

Historical records and "Enlightenment."

1854

During the Crimean War, soldiers are taken by the War Lords in order to fight in the War Games in 1969. The Time Lords return them to their proper time.

"The War Games." Exact date is conjecture. The Crimean War ran from 1854-1856.

J. Clark Maxwell and Michael Faraday conduct experiments (in electromagnetism and static electricity respectively) that will help Theodore Maxtible in the development of his method of time-travel by 1865.

Historical records and "The Evil of the Daleks."

November 5: The uncle of Theodore Maxtible's maid, Mollie, is killed in the Crimean War at the Battle of Inkerman.

Historical records. Mollie's uncle is established in "The Evil of the Daleks."

1856

The Doctor is wounded while fighting in the Crimean War.

"The Sea Devils." Exact date is conjecture.

1859

Around this time, Henry Gordon Jago enters show business.

By the time of "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" (1889), Jago has spent "30 years in the halls."

1860

The future-Professor Litefoot and his family are in China at this time. Litefoot's father is a Brigadier-General on the punitive expedition.

"The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

1861

The Malicious Damage Act is passed in England. The Act includes damage to lighthouses.

"The Horror of Fang Rock."

1862

During the American Civil War, soldiers are kidnapped by the War Lords to fight in the War Games in 1969, then returned home by the Time Lords.

"The War Games."

1863

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

November 19: The Chase: The Executioners: At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers his famous "Gettysburg Address."

1865

Theodore Maxtible's experiments in time-travel attract the attention of the Daleks. The Daleks convince Maxtible to help them by promising him the secrets of the Philosopher's Stone. The Daleks also kidnap Victoria Waterfield in order to secure her father, Edward's assistance. Maxtible has the south wing of his home closed off to conduct further experiments with the Daleks.

"A twelve-month back" from "The Evil of the Daleks."

1866

The Evil of the Daleks: 2,3,4,5,6: The 2nd Doctor and Jamie are brought back to this time from 1966 by Theodore Maxtible and Edward Waterfield. Maxtible has been promised the secret of transmuting elements, while Waterfield's daughter Victoria has been taken prisoner by the Daleks. The Doctor and Jamie are forced to perform a series of test in order to isolate the "Human Factor," which the Daleks claim will make them more efficient creatures. They really plan to use a "Dalek Factor" to take over Earth. After the tests, the Daleks take the Doctor, Jamie, Maxtible, Waterfield and Victoria to Skaro in 4100.

The K-9 series computer is programmed with every grandmaster chess game from this point onwards.

"The Androids of Tara."

1870

In Scotland, the Jameson boys go out onto Tullock Moor, where they encounter the Zygons. The younger brother, Donald, disappears, and Richard is found 2 days later, driven insane by the experience. Richard never speaks again.

"Terror of the Zygons."

Heinrich Schliemann and his young wife Sophia Engastrontenos begin their excavation of the ancient city of Troy.

Historical records and "The Stones of Blood."

1871

Soldiers are taken from the Franco-Prussian War by the War Lords to fight in the War Games in 1969. They are returned by the Time Lords.

"The War Games." The year 1871 is given but the specific war is not mentioned. The Franco-Prussian War ran 1870-1871.

1872

February 3: Joseph Sundvik dies.

According to the gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

Reuben joins the lighthouse service. He will spend twenty of the next thirty years in gas-powered lighthouses.

Thirty years prior to "Horror of Fang Rock" (1902).

The Chase: Flight Through Eternity: The 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki land on the Mary Celeste while fleeing the Daleks. After they leave, the Daleks arrive, frightening all on board into abandoning ship.

1873

Professor Litefoot's family returns home to England from China. They bring with them a "Chinese puzzle box," a gift from the Emperor to Litefoot's mother, in reality Magnus Greel's time cabinet.

"The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

1874

The stone circle known as the Nine Traveller is surveyed.

"The Stones of Blood."

1878

Zanak, the "pirate planet," appears around the planet Bandraginus V, and extracts all of its mineral wealth, destroying it in the process.

Bandraginus V disappeared 200 years before "The Pirate Planet" (1978).

1879

Johnny Ringo begins a search for his former lover Kate, who has run off with Doc Holliday.

Two years before "The Gunfighters" (1881).

1881

American humorist Franklin Adams is born.

Historical records and "The Seeds of Doom."

Doc Holliday shoots and kills Reuben Clanton.

Some time before "The Gunfighters."

October: The Gunfighters: A Holiday for the Doctor; Don't Shoot the Pianist; Johnny Ringo; The OK Corral: The 1st Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in Tombstone, Arizona, where the Doctor is mistaken for Doc Holliday by the Clanton brothers, who try to kill him. Eventually convincing everyone otherwise, the time-travellers leave after witnessing the gunfight at the OK Corral.

Inspector MacKenzie of Scotland Yard is sent to Gabriel Chase in Perivale to investigate the disappearance of Sir George and Lady Margaret Pritchard, the owners. He is captured by Josiah Smith and place in suspended animation.

"Ghost Light."

1883

Around this time, the planet Manussa is in its Middle Sumaran Empire.

In "Snakedance" (2583), a statue from that period is said to be 700 years old.

August 27: The Doctor is present at the eruption of Krakatoa.

Historical records. The Doctor's presense established in "Inferno."

Ghost Light: 1,2,3: The 7th Doctor and Ace investigate the mysterious goings-on at the Gabriel Chase mansion in Perivale. The house is inhabited by "Josiah Smith," a rapidly evolving alien who wishes to have Queen Victoria assassinated, allowing him to take over the British Empire. Smith is actually part of the survey collection of Light, a powerful being who has attempted to catalogue all life on Earth; his attempt are frustrated by evolution and he plans to wipe out all organic life to make it stop changing. The time-travellers foil Smith's plan and Light destroys himself when confronted with the fact that he, too, is evolving.

Two years after Inspector MacKenzie's disappearance (1881) and one hundred years before Ace burns down Gabriel Chase (1983).

1884

The book Up the Amazon is published. It includes a section on the variety of fungi eaten by the natives of the Amazon Basin.

"The Green Death."

1885

Timelash: 1 ("long" episodes) or 2 ("short" episodes): Vena, an inhabitant of the planet Karfel, accidentally arrives in this time, and encounters a young H.G. Wells. The 6th Doctor arrives to return Vena to her own time and Wells stows away on the TARDIS when they leave.

H.G. Wells is returned to his own time by the 6th Doctor and Peri. Inspired by his adventure with the Doctor, Wells takes up writing science fiction.

Shortly after "Timelash."

1888

The Nemesis statue passes close to Earth.

"Silver Nemesis." As part of Nemesis' 25 year orbit.

1889

Joseph Buller and Emma Gusset are wed. They move in with Emma's mother.

Six months before "The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

Henry Gordon Jago's wife spends 17 pounds and thruppence on her wardrobe, an amount Jago finds excessive. Around the same time, Emma Buller attends a show at the London Palace Theatre, where she is hyptnotised on stage by Li H'Sen Chang.

A week before "The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

Emma Buller returns to the London Palace Theatre and disappears.

The night before "The Talons of Weng-Chiang."

The Talons of Weng-Chiang: 1,2,3,4,5,6: In Victorian London, the 4th Doctor and Leela, with the help of theatre owner Henry Gordon Jago and medical doctor Professor Litefoot, investigate a series of disappearances of young girls. They discover that the girls' life essences are being absorbed by Magnus Greel, a political criminal from the 51st century, who is posing as the Chinese god Weng-Chiang. The group track down Greel's lair, where he is destroyed before he can escape back to his own time.

The Jack the Ripper murders have already taken place at the time of this story. These took place in 1888 and most other chronologies place the story in the following year; I am following suit.

1891

The last known human sacrifice to be performed in the Morton Harwood area occurs at this time.

"K9 and Company."

1898

January 12: Florence Sundvik dies.

From a gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

March 4: Mary Eliza Millington is born.

As seen on a gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

March 17: Mary Eliza Millington, aged only two weeks, dies.

From her gravestone in "The Curse of Fenric."

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