Erich von Däniken
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 4
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | von Däniken, Erich von Daniken, von Daniken |
Erich von Däniken (14 April 1935 – 10 January 2026) was a Swiss author whose 1968 book Chariots of the Gods? made the "ancient astronauts" idea famous around the world. He argued that extraterrestrials visited the Earth in prehistoric times and shaped early human cultures. Scientists and archaeologists almost universally reject his work as pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology.[1][2]
Early life and convictions
Von Däniken was born in Zofingen, Switzerland, and educated at a Catholic boarding school in Fribourg, where he developed an interest in astronomy and flying saucers. He was convicted of theft at 19 and later served a sentence over a jewellery deal in Egypt.[1] While managing a hotel in Davos he wrote Chariots of the Gods? (in German, Erinnerungen an die Zukunft, "Memories of the Future"). Several publishers turned it down, and it was heavily rewritten by a professional author before publication in March 1968.[1]
In November 1968 he was arrested for fraud for falsifying hotel records and credit references to borrow about $130,000, much of which he spent on travel for his research. He was convicted of embezzlement, fraud and forgery in 1970 and served one year of a three-and-a-half-year sentence; he wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space, in prison. Sales of his first book allowed him to repay his debts.[1]
His claims
Von Däniken's books argued that monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and the statues of Easter Island, and many ancient artworks, showed knowledge or technology beyond their builders, and that religions began as reactions to contact with aliens.[1] Many of his specific claims were shown to be wrong:[1]
- The Nazca lines. He suggested the lines in Peru were landing strips for spacecraft. Archaeologists attribute them to pre-Columbian cultures, and one photograph he presented as resembling an airport was in fact a small part of a bird figure.
- The Cueva de los Tayos. He described a trip through tunnels in an Ecuadorian cave containing gold and a metal library. The explorer he named said no such trip took place, and von Däniken later admitted he had never been inside the cave.
- The iron pillar of Delhi. He cited the pillar's lack of rust as evidence of alien help, but dropped the claim when told its manufacture was well understood.
- The pyramids. He claimed the Egyptians could not have built the Great Pyramid, ignoring earlier pyramids, ancient tools and the excavated settlements of the workers.
Critics also noted that he failed to credit earlier writers with similar ideas, and his German publisher had to add the French author Robert Charroux to the bibliography to avoid a possible plagiarism suit.[1]
Later career
Von Däniken wrote many more books, co-founded the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association, and designed Mystery Park, a theme park in Interlaken, Switzerland, which opened in 2003.[1] He died of old age in a hospital in Interlaken in January 2026, aged 90.[2]
References
- Erich von Däniken — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Swiss author Erich von Däniken dead at 90", Keystone-SDA via SWI swissinfo.ch (11 Jan 2026) · swissinfo.ch · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.