Erich von Däniken
- Life status
- Confirmed deceased
- Profession
- Author (ancient-astronaut books)
- Also recorded as
- Erich von Daniken · Erich von Daeniken
- Born
- 14 April 1935
- Age
- 90 · as reported by Associated Press (attributed), at the recorded event
- Died
- 10 January 2026 · known to the day
- Fields
- Not classified yet: categories await the owner’s taxonomy review
- Organisations
- Not stated
- Works
- None catalogued yet
In plain words
Author (ancient-astronaut books). Proponent of the ancient-astronaut hypothesis ("The gods were astronauts"), as stated in his official obituary. Recorded as his own thesis, not as a finding.
Biography
Erich von Däniken, Swiss author of "Chariots of the Gods", is the person described by his official site and by Keystone-SDA and AP reports of January 2026.
Born on April 14, 1935, in Zofingen, canton Aargau, according to his official obituary and Keystone-SDA.
Born in Zofingen, canton Aargau, Switzerland.
AP reports he died at 90. Attributed
Author of bestselling books proposing extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations (AP).
Published "Chariots of the Gods" in 1968 (Keystone-SDA via swissinfo.ch).
Proponent of the ancient-astronaut hypothesis ("The gods were astronauts"), as stated in his official obituary. Recorded as his own thesis, not as a finding.
Died on January 10, 2026, as announced on his official site and in his official obituary; Keystone-SDA reports the same Saturday.
Died at a hospital in Interlaken, canton Bern, according to his daughter as reported by Keystone-SDA. Attributed
His daughter said he died of old age (Keystone-SDA). No medical or official finding was read. Attributed
Not established
- Not establishedNo official ruling on manner of death was found. Not established in the reviewed sources; Official site, obituary PDF, swissinfo, SRF and CTV/AP read 2026-11-11: family statement only.; checked 11 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo official determination was found; the only account is the family statement. Not established in the reviewed sources; Same scope as cl-manner.; checked 11 Nov 2026.
Connection to UAP research
Proponent of the ancient-astronaut hypothesis ("The gods were astronauts"), as stated in his official obituary. Recorded as his own thesis, not as a finding.
Works
No works catalogued in the approved record yet. Works mentioned in sources appear as attributed statements in the biography.
Timeline
Events and cases
No case file is published for this person. Recorded life events are in the timeline above; a case is opened only with its own evidence and review.
Sources
- Erich von Däniken (opens in a new tab)daniken.com (official site) · Organisation website · read
- Swiss author Erich von Däniken dead at 90 (opens in a new tab)swissinfo.ch (SWI, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation), 2026 · News report · readAuthor: Keystone-SDA
- Obituary for Erich von Däniken (opens in a new tab)A.A.S. GmbH / 'Sagenhafte Zeiten' editors (via daniken.com), 2026 · Organisation website · readAuthor: contributors of A.A.S. GmbH and the editors of the magazine 'Sagenhafte Zeiten'
- Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer who spawned alien archaeology, dies at 90 (opens in a new tab)CTV News (Associated Press), 2026 · News report · partly readAuthor: The Associated Press
- Im Alter von 90 Jahren - Erich von Däniken: Der Schweizer Bestseller-Autor ist tot (opens in a new tab)SRF (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen), 2026 · News report · readAuthor: strh/bosm/brec/sda