RIP Terry Nation, died on March 9th, 1997
Not only did he create The Daleks, writing:
"The Daleks" (1963)
"The Dalek Invasion of Earth" (1964)
"The Chase" (1965)
"Mission to the Unknown" (1965)
"The Daleks' Master Plan" (co-written with Dennis Spooner, 1965)
"Planet of the Daleks" (1973)
"Death to the Daleks" (1974)
"Genesis of the Daleks" (1975)
"Destiny of the Daleks" (1979)
he also wrote
"The Keys of Marinus" (1964)
"The Android Invasion" (1975)
I think it's safe to say that, without him and his input, the show would never have survived beyond the first few episodes