this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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Is it really switching if that was the way it was traditionally done and they just kept doing it that way?
I think it was primarily a verbal ordering, that later became commonplace written down in the US. If it was written down in that order elsewhere, it would have been with the full text, ie. “July 4th, 1776”. Never something like “07/04/1776”, which I believe was an American invention.
But wouldn't that just be an extension of the way of doing things, though? If I'm used to writing "July 4th, 1776", I wouldn't start writing "04/07/1776" when that format picked up (which, as I understand things, didn't really become a widespread norm until computers).
Unless I'm misunderstanding you, of course (always possible).
I think written abbreviated it was always eg. 4 Jul 1776, 4.7.1776 in Europe (UK/France/Germany)
I'm not sure that's quite true; here's an example from King George III doing it the way America does it now (top right corner of the top page):
And an example from America in the same century (though I think we're already in agreement, there):