Erich Anton Paul von Däniken is a Swiss writer who was born on 14 April 1935 in Zofingen, Aargau. In 1968, he became one of the pioneers of paleo-contact and the ancient astronaut hypothesis, popularizing controversial claims about alien influence on ancient civilizations with his book "Chariots of the Gods." While his books were rejected by many academics who described them as fake history and fake archaeology, they found a wide readership.
Von Däniken wrote his first work while working as the manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos. Shortly after the book was published, he was arrested for financial crimes for falsifying hotel records and credit references. While he was in prison, he completed his second book, "Return to the Stars (Gods from Outer Space)." In 1970, he was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and a fine of 3,000 francs; He completed part of his sentence by serving one year.
He also made various initiatives throughout his life; In 2003, he designed the theme park "Mysterious Park" (later Jungfraupark) in Interlaken and co-founded the "Archaaeological, Astrotonic and SETI Research Association". Raised in a Catholic family, Däniken attended Saint-Michael International Catholic School in Fribourg; During his school years, he moved away from Bible interpretations and turned to flying saucers and astronomy.
At the age of 19, he was sentenced to four months in prison for theft, and then served nine months in prison on charges of fraud during a jewelery sale in Egypt.
Von Däniken, who was married to Elisabeth Skaja and had a child, died in Bern on January 10, 2026.
Erich von Däniken was born on April 14, 1935 in Zofingen, Switzerland. He died on January 10, 2026.
Productions in which he took part
He took part in 50 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.
- ZIBB (2003)
- Kölner Treff (1976)
- NDR Talk Show (1979)
- Die Johannes B. Kerner Show (1998)
- Riverboat (1992)
- ZDF-Fernsehgarten (1986)
- 3 nach 9 (1974)
- Ancient Aliens (2010)
- Wetten, dass..? (1981)
- Beckmann (1999)
- Menschen der Woche (2000)
- Der Club (1985)
Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.
