library(tidyverse)
toy_data <- data.frame(
cabinet_id = c(996, 997),
start_date = c("1901-03-30", "1903-09-24"),
cabinet_name = c("Bartan", "Deakin1")
)
toy_data
#> cabinet_id start_date cabinet_name
#> 1 996 1901-03-30 Bartan
#> 2 997 1903-09-24 Deakin1
toy_data %>%
separate(start_date, c("desired_variable_name", NA, NA))
#> cabinet_id desired_variable_name cabinet_name
#> 1 996 1901 Bartan
#> 2 997 1903 Deakin1
Created on 2020-09-12 by the reprex package (v0.3.0)