sterfdatum

Sterfdatum is the date of death of a person, used in biographies and genealogical records to indicate the end of life. It is usually recorded alongside the geboortedatum (birth date) to show a person’s lifespan, and may be presented as an exact date or, when the exact day or month is unknown, as an approximate date.

Common sources for determining a sterfdatum include civil registries (overlijdens acts or death certificates), church registers, gravestones, obituaries, and genealogical databases. In some cases the date is inferred from related records when a direct record is missing, which can introduce uncertainty.

Dates may be recorded in local formats or standardized forms; in databases, ISO date notation is sometimes used. When only the year is known, only the year may be listed. In historical records, terms such as circa (ca.) or approximately may appear to indicate uncertainty about the exact date.

Uses and limitations: the sterfdatum helps establish lifespan, verify family relationships, and anchor other historical events in a person’s timeline. However, records can be incomplete, lost, or conflicting, especially for earlier periods or less-documented regions. Researchers often evaluate multiple sources to arrive at the most plausible date.

See also: overlijdensdatum, datum van overlijden, geboortedatum. For living persons, a sterfdatum is not applicable; in contemporary contexts, access to death records may be subject to privacy and legal considerations.