The Swiss writer died at the age of 90 Erich von Dänikenhis office announced. Von Däniken, known for his works on extraterrestrial influence on human culture since prehistoric times, died on Saturday after a short stay in a hospital in Unterseen near the Swiss capital Bern, TASR reports, according to reports from the AP and DPA news agencies.
This best-selling author wrote dozens of books about what he believed to be traces of extraterrestrials on Earth. Among other things, he promoted the theory that the pyramids in Egypt were built with the help of extraterrestrial beings. Von Däniken was self-taught. For decades he pursued his passion for the paranormal, traveling the world in search of new mysteries to reveal to readers.
Von Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the “paleocontact” hypothesis and ancient astronauts. The claims made in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics who classify his work as pseudo-history, pseudo-archaeology and pseudo-science. Despite this, his books have sold 60 million copies in 32 languages.
Among his well-known publications are Memories of the Future (1968), Back to the Stars (1969), Message from the Universe (1972), The Day the Gods Came (1984), The Eyes of the Sphinx (1989), The Stone Age Was Quite Different (1991) or In the Name of Zeus (1999). “I’m an old man, but I’m still not tired of the topics I deal with, because they’re fascinating and I still enjoy them today” said the writer for TASR during his visit to Slovakia in 2010.
