diff --git a/benches/client.rs b/benches/client.rs
index c7a8605e..95836168 100644
--- a/benches/client.rs
+++ b/benches/client.rs
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ fn bench_curl(b: &mut test::Bencher) {
 struct Foo;
 
 impl hyper::header::Header for Foo {
-    fn header_name(_: Option<Foo>) -> SendStr {
-        Slice("x-foo")
+    fn header_name(_: Option<Foo>) -> &'static str {
+        "x-foo"
     }
     fn parse_header(_: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<Foo> {
         None
diff --git a/src/header.rs b/src/header.rs
index 69acb03a..1834929b 100644
--- a/src/header.rs
+++ b/src/header.rs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ use std::string::raw;
 use std::collections::hashmap::{HashMap, Entries};
 
 use mime::Mime;
+use time::{Tm, strptime};
 
 use rfc7230::read_header;
 use {HttpResult};
@@ -522,6 +523,66 @@ impl Header for Server {
     }
 }
 
+// Egh, replace as soon as something better than time::Tm exists.
+/// The `Date` header field.
+#[deriving(PartialEq, Clone)]
+pub struct Date(pub Tm);
+
+impl Header for Date {
+    fn header_name(_: Option<Date>) -> &'static str {
+        "date"
+    }
+
+    fn parse_header(raw: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<Date> {
+        from_one_raw_str(raw)
+    }
+
+    fn fmt_header(&self, fmt: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        self.fmt(fmt)
+    }
+}
+
+impl fmt::Show for Date {
+    fn fmt(&self, fmt: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        let Date(ref tm) = *self;
+        // bummer that tm.strftime allocates a string. It would nice if it
+        // returned a Show instead, since I don't need the String here
+        write!(fmt, "{}", tm.to_utc().rfc822())
+    }
+}
+
+impl FromStr for Date {
+    //    Prior to 1995, there were three different formats commonly used by
+    //   servers to communicate timestamps.  For compatibility with old
+    //   implementations, all three are defined here.  The preferred format is
+    //   a fixed-length and single-zone subset of the date and time
+    //   specification used by the Internet Message Format [RFC5322].
+    //
+    //     HTTP-date    = IMF-fixdate / obs-date
+    //
+    //   An example of the preferred format is
+    //
+    //     Sun, 06 Nov 1994 08:49:37 GMT    ; IMF-fixdate
+    //
+    //   Examples of the two obsolete formats are
+    //
+    //     Sunday, 06-Nov-94 08:49:37 GMT   ; obsolete RFC 850 format
+    //     Sun Nov  6 08:49:37 1994         ; ANSI C's asctime() format
+    //
+    //   A recipient that parses a timestamp value in an HTTP header field
+    //   MUST accept all three HTTP-date formats.  When a sender generates a
+    //   header field that contains one or more timestamps defined as
+    //   HTTP-date, the sender MUST generate those timestamps in the
+    //   IMF-fixdate format.
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Option<Date> {
+        strptime(s, "%a, %d %b %Y %T %Z").or_else(|_| {
+            strptime(s, "%A, %d-%b-%y %T %Z")
+        }).or_else(|_| {
+            strptime(s, "%c")
+        }).ok().map(|tm| Date(tm))
+    }
+}
+
 fn from_one_raw_str<T: FromStr>(raw: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<T> {
     if raw.len() != 1 {
         return None;
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 5e79811d..6f765746 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #![deny(warnings)]
 #![experimental]
 
+extern crate time;
 extern crate url;
 #[phase(plugin,link)] extern crate log;
 #[cfg(test)] extern crate test;
diff --git a/src/server/response.rs b/src/server/response.rs
index c18611d2..7c41f1e6 100644
--- a/src/server/response.rs
+++ b/src/server/response.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 use std::io::{BufferedWriter, IoResult};
 use std::io::net::tcp::TcpStream;
 
+use time::now_utc;
+
 use header;
 use status;
 use version;
@@ -46,6 +48,10 @@ impl Response {
         debug!("writing head: {} {}", self.version, self.status);
         try!(write!(self.body, "{} {}{}{}", self.version, self.status, CR as char, LF as char));
 
+        if !self.headers.has::<header::Date>() {
+            self.headers.set(header::Date(now_utc()));
+        }
+
         for (name, header) in self.headers.iter() {
             debug!("headers {}: {}", name, header);
             try!(write!(self.body, "{}: {}", name, header));