Dates

Capture standard dates as the textual representation of the date within the content of the element and add the ISO dates in the isoDate, isoStart and isoEnd attributes.

//date

Capture the date in ISO 8601 format.

Date XML


      <date isoDate="2008-12-01">1 December 2008</date>

Use the role attribute to identify specific types of dates. For example:

Birth (not part of a ranged date)


      <date role="birth" isoDate="1742-11-16">16th November 1742</date>

Death (not part of a ranged date)


      <date role="death" isoDate="1742">1742</date>

Baptism


      <date role="baptism" isoDate="1742">1742</date>

Burial


      <date role="burial" isoDate="1865-02">February 1865</date>

Flourished


      <date role="floruit" isoDate="1742">1742</date>

Ranged Birth-to-Death


      <date role="lifespan" isoStart="1742" isoEnd="1791">1742-1791</date>

For entries that are people, capture their years of birth and death using the date element with attribute role="lifespan". Use the isoStart attribute for the birth year, and the isoEnd attribute for the death year. Capture isoEnd as a full year, even if a two-digit death year is given in the text.

Where the person is still alive, there may be a space in place of a death date. Capture this space using the x2002 entity. Do not capture the isoEnd attribute.

Do not capture qualifiers such as c. in the attributes of date. When a date is portrayed as a range due to uncertain information (e.g. a birth date of "1955-1959" and a death date of "2001-2005"), capture death dates, burial dates and end dates as the latest date present in the range. Capture all other dates to the earliest date present in the range.

Uncertain dates:


      <date role="birth" isoDate="1955">1955-1959</date>
      <date role="death" isoDate="2005">2001-2005</date>

Where parentheses surround the date range capture them outside the date element.

Manuscript

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XML


      <e id="acref-9780195123456-e-1530" doi="10.1093/acref/9780195123456.013.1530">
        <headwordGroup><headword type="person">
                     <nameGrp mainName="Penrose">Penrose</nameGrp>
                 </headword>
        </headwordGroup>
        <section role="main"><textMatter>
 <div1>
   <p>Roger (<date role="lifespan" isoStart="1931">1931–&amp;#x2002;</date>) British
                mathematician and theoretical physicist.</p>
 </div1></textMatter>
        </section>
      </e>

Manuscript

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XML


      <e id="acref-9780195123456-e-1527" doi="10.1093/acref/9780195123456.013.1527">
        <headwordGroup><headword type="person">
                     <nameGrp mainName="Penney">Penney</nameGrp>
                 </headword>
        </headwordGroup>
        <section role="main"><textMatter>
 <p>William George, Lord (<date role="lifespan" isoStart="1909" isoEnd="1991">1909–91</date>) British mathematician.</p></textMatter>
        </section>
      </e>

Manuscript

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XML


      <e id="acref-9780195123456-e-0244" doi="10.1093/acref/9780195123456.013.0244">
        <headwordGroup><headword type="person">
                     <nameGrp mainName="Aristarchus" subsidiaryName="of Samos">Aristarchus of Samos</nameGrp>
                 </headword>
        </headwordGroup>
        <section role="main"><textMatter>
 <p>(<date role="lifespan" isoStart="-0320" isoEnd="-0250">
                             <i>c.</i>
                  320<sc>bc</sc>–<i>c.</i> 250<sc>bc</sc>
                         </date>) Greek astronomer.</p></textMatter>
        </section>
      </e>

Capture date ranges using the isoStart and isoEnd attributes and attribute role="range".

Manuscript

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XML


      <date role="range" isoStart="1931-03" isoEnd="1937-04">March 1931– April 1937</date>

Manuscript

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XML


      <date role="range" isoStart="1931" isoEnd="1937">1931–37</date>

Manuscript

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XML


      <date isoDate="1902">1902</date>

Capture date combinations and non-consecutive dates that are grouped together in a single date element. Only capture the first date in the attributes of that element.

Manuscript

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XML


      <date isoDate="1953-03">March and June 1953</date>