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Person
William Francis Patrick Napier
Knowledge Panel
William Francis Patrick Napier (fl. 1785–1860 ) was a historical individual who has been identified in records relating to modern Ireland.
The date range (fl. 1785–1860 ) displayed for William Francis Patrick Napier is called a ‘floruit’. This is an approximate date range. It suggests the broadest period in which William Francis Patrick Napier is known, or can reasonably be inferred, to have lived.
Depending on the historical evidence available, a floruit may represent the full lifespan of an individual, or a shorter period in which they are known to have been active.
Napier was born on 17 December 1785 and died on 12 February 1860.
William Francis Patrick Napier has been identified as a person of Irish historical significance, with a biographical entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography. You can read an extract from the entry for Napier below. A corresponding entry has also been identified for William Francis Patrick Napier in Wikidata.
Place of Birth: Kildare and Ireland.
Place of Death: London and England.
William Francis Patrick Napier shared his surname with other individuals in the Irish historical record. To find Napier in some of these documents, or to discover other individuals with the same surname, search here using the Virtual Treasury. To locate references to William Francis Patrick Napier, you can use the website’s Advanced Search tools for an exact match, or use the floruit dates (fl. 1785–1860 ) to help narrow your search.
General information
| Normalised First Name | William Francis Patrick |
| Normalised Surname | Napier |
| Floruit | 1785 — 1860 |
| Birth Date | 17 December 1785 |
| Death Date | 12 February 1860 |
| Gender | Male |
| DIB Page | Napier Sir William Francis Patrick a6137 |
| Wikidata Page | Q637730 |
Date Information
Historical dates are not always recorded with the same level of certainty as modern biographical information. For many individuals, particularly those who lived in earlier periods, exact birth and death dates are unknown.
The Knowledge Graph typically displays a single date range for each individual. This range represents the broadest period during which the person is known, or can reasonably be inferred, to have lived or been active.
This date range should not always be understood as a confirmed lifespan.
Where precise birth and death dates are known, the range reflects those dates.
Where evidence is limited, the range for a given person is approximate. An approximate date range is known as a floruit (fl.) This term, derived from Latin, indicates the period of time in which a person ‘flourished’. In the Knowledge Graph, it is used to indicate the broadest period during which a person is known to have been active, particularly when life dates are unknown.
Floruits may be derived from:
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- Expert inference from contextual evidence
Where more detailed dating information is available, it is displayed in the General Informational panel located on individual entity pages.
This may include:
- Date of Birth
- Date of Death
These categories are used where birth or death dates are known with reasonable certainty.
Where a single date appears for dates of birth or death, this may be interpreted as a confirmed date.
Where a date range appears in these fields, it indicates that an individual was born or died at some point within this date range.
