  erich anton paul von dÃ¤niken (; ; born 14 april 1935) is a swiss author of several books which make controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling chariots of the gods?, published in 1968. dÃ¤niken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses. the ideas put forth in his books are largely rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology. dÃ¤niken wrote his first book while working as manager of the hotel rosenhÃ¼gel in davos, switzerland. he was convicted of several financial crimes, including fraud, shortly after its publication. the revenue from the sales of his book allowed him to repay his debts and leave the hotel business. dÃ¤niken wrote his second book, gods from outer space, while in prison. dÃ¤niken later became a co-founder of the archaeology, astronautics and seti research association (aas ra). he designed mystery park (now known as jungfrau park), a theme park located in interlaken, switzerland, that opened on 23 may 2003. == early life == dÃ¤niken was born in zofingen, aargau. brought up as a strict catholic, he attended the saint-michel international catholic school in fribourg, switzerland. during
1935_births 20th-century_Swiss_writers 21st-century_Swiss_writers Ancient_astronaut_speculation Esoteric_anthropogenesis Living_people Mythographers New_Age_writers People_convicted_of_fraud People_from_Zofingen Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistorians