Correct punctuation in dates

Question

My question is about this particular sentence: 'Finally, on May 29 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary became the first man to reach the summit of Everest.'

Is it neccessary to put a comma before the year in this particular case?

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

It depends on whom you ask.

I'm sure nearly all Americans would use a comma afterMay 29 and probably the majority of Britons too. However, some British newspapers such as The Guardian have a dislike for commas in dates and write the date as it is in your post. This is a fairly recent development.

On the whole, in British English fewer commas and full stops/periods are used these days than in American English. For example, Mr. Bell looks dated to many Brits and for many years I haven't received a letter beginning with

Dear Cool Breeze,

from a Brit. Americans still often put a comma where I put it.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

Yes! Dates written in the form you have it here should be written like this: May 29, 1953. Since you have it within a sentence, you ALWAYS place a comma AFTER the COMPLETE date (that means full month, day and year) within the sentence, regardless of how the rest of the work is punctuated.

Correct punctuation in dates

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