Convert date to a different format.

convert-date-format.php

<?php

/*
 * Always input date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD) to
 * allow for conversion to a different format before display.
 *
 * e.g. 1997-07-16T19:20:30.45+01:00, 1997-07-16
 *
 * http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime
 * http://php.net/manual/en/function.date.php
 * http://stackoverflow.com/a/5074579
 */

$input_timestamp = strtotime( '1997-07-16' );

$new_date_format = date( 'F j, Y', $timestamp );

// Displays '1997-07-16' as 'July 16, 1997'
echo $new_date_format;

?>