Erich von Däniken

Erich von Däniken (born April 14, 1935) is a Swiss author and one of the most influential proponents of the "ancient astronaut" hypothesis, proposing that extraterrestrial visitors influenced the development of early human civilizations. As a legendary figure in alternative history and a guest on late-night radio, his seminal 1968 work Chariots of the Gods? has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and fundamentally shaped popular discourse on humanity's ancient past.