StrToDate only converts numbers, so if you have month names in your string, you'll have to use VarToDateTime instead. Here are some examples:

var D , D2, D3 : TDateTime; begin D := VarToDateTime('December 6, 969'); D2 := VarToDateTime('6-Apr- 998'); D3 := VarToDateTime(' 998-Apr-6'); ShowMessage(DateToStr(D )+' '+DateToStr(D2)+' '+ DateToStr(D3)); end; 7/ 6/98 4:3 :28 PM