\documentclass[12pt]{article}  \textheight 11cm
\begin{document}

\title{How to break a long title\\ suited to my needs}
\author{G. Hacker \\ 1. Institute for Construction  \and 
        Hubert Plagiatus \thanks{to Daddy}\\ 2. Institute for Construction}
\date{From: \today}
\maketitle         % title with authors (and thanks), current date with addtions
\end{document}