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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:
- Documentary references
- Known periods of activity or office-holding
- 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.
