Erich von Däniken
April 14, 1935
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken is a controversial Swiss writer and enigma who is known primarily for his books in which he writes about the history of the earth to be visited by extraterrestrials and influenced by the history of mankind.
After being suspended for theft at the age of nineteen, he had to leave school and began teaching as a hotelier, but later became interested in the Bible, which he translated into German at school. He found that some passages in the Bible were reminiscent of things that, when translated and put into context, are familiar even to modern man. He started traveling.
Erich von Däniken was born in Zofingen (canton of Aargau) the fourth of five children of the writer Otto von Däniken and his wife Magdalena (Lena), née Weiss. He spent his school years in Niedererlinsbach (canton of Solothurn), Rabius (canton of Graubünden) and finally in Schaffhausen, where he witnessed the bombing on April 1, 1944, and freiburg im Üechtland. There he attended St Mary's College from the age of 13. Michael of the Jesuit Order. He was particularly interested in books on philosophy, theology and archaeology. He then trained as a cook. While working as a hotel management apprentice in Schweizerhof, Bern, he made his first trip to Egypt in 1954 and began looking for translations of the cuneiform texts. Jobs in various hotels followed. After a stint at the Knorr soup factory, von Däniken became general manager of the Mirabeau restaurant in Bern.
His first and perhaps most important book, "Memories of the Future," was published in 1968 - it immediately caused a great deal of upheaval, much controversy - Däniken received a lot of criticism, but also sympathizers, some of whom continue his research and see themselves as alternative or "non-mainstream" historical researchers who examine humanity's oldest history from the perspective of Däniken's axiom. With the success of the first book, accusations of plagiarism emerged, with von Däniken copying and making extensive use of the ideas of other authors, such as Robert Charroux. Von Däniken was accused of substantiating his thesis with manipulated interpretations of scientific sources and doctored illustrations. From 2006, he claimed to have had contact with an alien in 1987.
Erich von Däniken's books have been translated into 20 languages. He became a co-founder and member of the A.A.S.R.A. (Archaeology, Astronautics SETI Research Association), which brings together those interested in the exploration of extraterrestrial civilizations and the ancient history of mankind.
During his travels, he visited many mysterious places where "traces of the gods" were found. He explored the mysterious mayan empire, traveled all over Mexico. For example, he filmed a stone relief he called "The God Who Controls the Flying Machine," researching the Nazca Plain, the tales of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the tales of Viman's Indian Flying Machines, and many other things. He was convicted of fraud and tax evasion several times. He now lives in his villa in the mountains in Beatenberg, Switzerland, and still gives lectures.