GMT

Today in History January 14

1129
Formal approval of the Order of Templars at the Council of Troyes

1864
Confederate President Jefferson Davis writes to General Joseph E. Johnson, observing that troops may need to be sent to Alabama or Mississippi.

1911
The USS Arkansas, the largest U.S. battleship, is launched from the yards of the New York Shipbuilding Company.

1915
The French abandon five miles of trenches to the Germans near Soissons.

1942
President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders all aliens in the U.S. to register with the government. (can you imagine Trump doing this)

2005
Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan.

2010
Yemen declares war on al-Qaeda terrorist group.

2021
Brazilian governor of Amazonas state Wilson Lima says their COVID-19 surge is now as bad as April 2020, with hospitals running out of oxygen and patients ventilated manually

2021
US Secret Service takes control of Joe Biden's inauguration as 20,000 troops authorized to guard Washington D.C., more than those stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia

2024
Frederik X becomes King of Denmark at Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen, after the abdication of his mother Margrethe at 83, and the world's last reigning queen

Born on January 14

1919
Andy Rooney, American humorist, author and television personality (60 Minutes).

1948
T Bone Burnett (Joseph Henry Burnett), musician, songwriter, Grammy-winning producer (O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack).

1952
Maureen Dowd, New York Times columnist, author; won Pulitzer Prize for her series on the Monica Lewinsky scandal during the Clinton administration.


JOTD

A man is alone in an airport lounge.
A beautiful young woman walks in and sits down at the table next to him. He decides that because she's wearing a uniform, she's probably an off-duty Flight Attendant. So he decides to have a go at picking her up by identifying the airline she flies for, thereby impressing her greatly. He leans across to her and says the British Airways motto, “To fly, to serve”? The young woman looks at him blankly. He sits back and thinks up another line. He leans forward again and delivers the Air France motto. “Winning the hearts of the world”? Again she just stares at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face. Undeterred he tries again this time saying the Malaysian Airlines motto. “Going beyond expectations”? The woman looks at him sternly and says, “What the frick do you want”? “Aha”, he says,... "United Airlines".