title: How to convert a MATLAB serial date number to a calendar date?
body: <p>This is not so much a programming question as it is a desire for clarification to understand the way the Matlab serial date number format works. I'm referencing Matlab serial date numbers and I would like to know how to convert them into calendar dates using the simplest means possible. Many of the references out there only instruct how to work with these numbers within Matlab itself, but I want to be able to make sense of these by hand using arithmetic to derive the dates they represent <strong>without the use of Matlab</strong> (if this is even possible).  </p>
  
  <p>From the research I have done already, I do understand that a Matlab timestamp is essentially a count of the number of days since January 1, 0000 and that the floating point numbers appended to it further represent specific hours, minutes, etc. I'm not as clear on how these break down however. The reference information out there is not very informative nor comprehensive and I'm struggling to understand how it works.  </p>
  
  <p>Say I have the timestamp 735071.64930556. Could anybody provide me with a formula to be able to derive the calendar date that this represents, or guide me through the process to convert it? From a programming standpoint, my purpose for wanting to understand this is so I can eventually write a converter to be able to handle this format within the application I'm developing. For now though, I simply wish to understand how the process works.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks</p>