Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose sensational theories about ancient astronauts visiting Earth made him one of the world's most commercially successful and scientifically contentious writers, died on Friday in Unterseen, Switzerland. He was 90.
His office and family announced the death on his website and X, stating that he died "after a brief hospital stay" in the Canton of Bern. No further details about the cause were provided.
Von Däniken achieved his first major commercial breakthrough in the late 1960s and spent decades building a publishing empire around his conviction that extraterrestrial beings influenced ancient human civilizations. His provocative ideas found an unlikely audience that extended from everyday readers to prominent filmmakers, including Ridley Scott, who publicly acknowledged being inspired by the author's work.
Born on April 14, 1935, in Zofingen, Switzerland, and raised in Schaffhausen, von Däniken claimed that his fascination with mythology, archaeology and ethnology began in early childhood. The space race of the 1950s and 1960s, he later said, reinforced his belief that "extraterrestrials thousands of years ago influenced the development of mankind and left traces on Earth."
Unlike most writers tackling such subjects, von Däniken had no formal scientific training. He apprenticed as a cook and worked variously as a waiter and hotelier before turning to writing. In 1975, Bolivia's Universidad Boliviana José Ballivian awarded him an honorary doctorate.
His central thesis, which he termed "pre-astronautics," posited that ancient monuments (including Egypt's pyramids) were constructed with alien assistance. Throughout his career, he embarked on expeditions worldwide, meticulously documenting what he considered anomalies that conventional archaeology and mythology couldn't explain.
The archaeological and scientific establishment largely dismissed von Däniken. His theories, which suggested that extraterrestrial visitors had shaped early human cultures, generated headlines but also considerable eye-rolling among experts. In 2006, he went further, claiming he had experienced direct contact with an extraterrestrial being in 1987. This is an assertion he first made in his novel "Tomy und der Planet der Lüge" and later reiterated in interviews.
Despite the skepticism, von Däniken's influence extended beyond publishing. Filmmakers including Steven Spielberg are said to have drawn inspiration from his work.
With more than 70 million books sold worldwide, von Däniken succeeded in creating a cultural phenomenon that transcended traditional publishing metrics, tapping into humanity's enduring fascination with the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the mysteries of ancient civilizations.
He is survived by his wife, Elisabeth Skaja, whom he married in 1960, and their daughter.
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