Do you think there should be a historical figure as an assistant?

[The Nth Doctor]

I would love to see Amelia Earhardt as The Doctor's companion.

Even though he's fictional, I keep finding myself wanting Poirot meeting The Doctor. Perhaps another visit to The Land of Fiction is needed...

Anyways, back to the original point, I think someone like Dr. Livingstone would be interesting.

 

[Avon]

hitler.

 

[Capt_Pickirk]

^
He would probably suit the tenth doctor.

Hitler appears in Tardis. Says something German. Doctor Repeatedly says what.

Credits.

 

[JRoss]

Well, he could always take people from the very distant past, whose fates are somewhat unknown or easily open to "fudging". Let's see:

Imhotep of Egypt, one of history's first great geniuses.
Hero of Alexandria, same thing as above.
Abū al-'Iz Ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī, who created robots in the twelfth century.
Helen of Troy, perhaps real, very little known about her.
Joan of Arc, "Here, let's get you off that stake. Those fools there will definitely canonize you after this." And the Doctor could work to rescue the poor girl from her mental issues.
Oda Nobunaga, "Hmm, looks like you couldn't trust your friends and it seems this temple is burning down around you. Want to take a ride in my box?"

I'd like to see what perspective they could bring, as well as maybe the Doctor having to temper a villainous figure's tendencies.

 

[Whofan]

Wasn't Chris Eccleston in the Amelia movie with Hilary Swank?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yes, he played Fred Noonan.

 

[DAK]

Matt Smith wrote some short stories with Einstein as the Doctor's companion.

Einstein was the first person I thought of. Perhaps the Doctor could even have planted a few ideas in his head!

Oh, and Stephen Hawking. Another brilliant mind way ahead of his time. Although he wouldn't be quite historic, would he.

 

[Shazam!]

A historical figure as a companion would understand some of the concepts and technologies less than we (the audience) do which would make it more frustrating than anything else.

Unless we want every episode to be a 'hilarious' fish out of water story.

 

[Avon]

jamie seemed to cope ok.

 

[Skellington]

Muhammad. Muhammad would be a super idea. He may have to remain out-of-shot, though.

 

[UssGlenn]

Edgar Allan Poe has that missing time between September 27 and October 3, 1849 just before his death that could be used as a jumping off point for a story.

 

[Shatnertage]

It'd be fun to see Lincoln paired with the 2nd Doctor. Both of them would try to joke their way through situations, but underneath of course are pretty smart.

Surprised no one's said Galileo or Bruno yet--real life Binro the Heretics.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Surprised no one's said Galileo or Bruno yet--real life Binro the Heretics.

Giordano Bruno would be cool.

For that matter, so would Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Edgar Allan Poe has that missing time between September 27 and October 3, 1849 just before his death that could be used as a jumping off point for a story.

Already done in an audio adventure.

And there was another story where they went to Edgar-Allan-World.

 

[FlapJoy]

Nikola Tesla.

Ben Franklin.

And just for kicks:
Winston Churchill vs the Sontaran.

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

John Lennon. He could slip out for an adventure with the Doctor during his "Long Weekend" period. They could have plotlines dealing with how he sees so much violence and hatred out among the stars, and how that bothers him. He could endeavor to bring love through time and space.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Of course that brings into question the real world point that Lennon was a fan of the show back in the 60's and it was his idea to appear on it (until manager Brian Epstein nixed the idea, thus the use of the clip in The Chase).

 

[ClayinCA]

Muhammad. Muhammad would be a super idea. He may have to remain out-of-shot, though.