Supposing you want to find out the earliest date and latest date in the range of A1:D7 see the following screenshot:

1. Min function to find earliest date

In a blank cell, enter the formula =MIN(A1:D7), and press the Enter key. It will return the earliest dates in active cell as soon as possible.

2. Small function to find earliest date

You can also apply the formula =SMALL(A1:D7,1) to get the earliest dates quickly.

3. Max function to find latest date

If you want to find out the latest dates in the range, you can enter the formula =MAX(A1:D7), and press the Enter key.

4. Large function to find latest date

This formula of =LARGE(A1:D7,1) will help you get the latest dates quickly.

If you have Kutools for Excel installed, its Select Cells with Max or Min Value tool can help you find out the earliest date and latest dates quickly without remembering the functions.

1. Select the range that you will pick up the latest or earliest date form. In this case, select the range of A1:D7, and click Kutools > Select > Select Cells with Max or Min Values.

2. Specify the settings as the following screenshot shows:
(1) If you want to find out the latest date, please check the Maximum value option; or check the Minimum value option for the earliest date;
(2) Check the Cell option and First cell only option.

3. Click OK. Then the cell with the latest date or earliest date in the selection will be selected at once.

This Select Cells with Max or Min Value utility of Kutools for Excel also supports to select the maximum value or minimum value in each column or in each rows easily.:

Select the range that you will pick up the latest or earliest date from, and click Kutools > Select > Select Cells with Max or Min Values, and then specify the options as below screenshot:

Easily find the max/min value based on criteria in other column (by group) in Excel

Kutools for Excel's Advanced Combine Rows utility can help Excel users quickly find out the maximum value of minimum value of each item in another column with ease.

This Advanced Combine Rows utility can also combine rows and separate values by specified marks, or combine rows and calculate their sums, number of occurrences, maximum/minimum values, averages, etc.