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Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make pseudoscientific claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses. The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology. Däniken 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 in May 2003. == Early life == Däniken was born in Zofingen, Aargau. Brought up as a Roman Catholic, he attended the Saint-Michel International Catholic School in Fribourg, Switzerland. During his time at the school he rejected the church's interpretations of the Bible and developed an interest in astronomy and the phenomenon of flying saucers.〔Playboy, August 1974 (volume 21, number 8)〕 At the age of 19, he was given a four-month suspended sentence for theft.〔 He left the school and was apprenticed to a Swiss hotelier for a time,〔Story(1976), p1〕 before moving to Egypt. In December 1964, Däniken wrote ''Hatten unsere Vorfahren Besuch aus dem Weltraum?'' ("Did our Ancestors have a Visit from Space?") for the German-Canadian periodical ''Der Nordwesten''.〔Peter Krassa, ''Disciple of the Gods: A Biography of Erich von Däniken'' (W. H. Allen & Co., Ltd, 1976, ISBN 0-352-30262-3), p. 74〕 While in Egypt, he was involved in a jewelry deal which resulted in a nine-month conviction for fraud and embezzlement upon his return to Switzerland.〔 Following his release, Däniken became manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos, Switzerland, during which time he wrote ''Chariots of the Gods?'' (German ''Erinnerungen an die Zukunft''), working on the manuscript late at night after the hotel's guests had retired.〔 The draft of the book was turned down by a variety of publishers. Econ Verlag (now part of Ullstein Verlag) was willing to publish the book after a complete reworking by a professional author, Utz Utermann, who used the pseudonym of Wilhelm Roggersdorf. Utermann was a former ''Schriftleiter'' of ''Völkischer Beobachter'' and had been a Nazi bestselling author.〔("Wilhelm Utermann" (in German) ), Eintrag im ''Lexikon westfälischer Autorinnen und Autoren''.〕 The re-write of ''Chariots of the Gods?'' was accepted for publication early in 1967, but not printed until March 1968.〔 Against all expectations, the book gained widespread interest and became a bestseller. Däniken was paid 7 percent of the book's turnover, while 3 percent went to Utermann.〔Der Spiegel, 5202660, Wie es unser Explorand sehr schön zeigt, by Gerhard Mauz, 1970, Nr.7, 1970-02-09, page 98〕 In 1970, ''Der Spiegel'' stated a hype about Däniken and called it ''Dänikitis'', a pun on Meningitis and other infections.〔Der Spiegel 44418148 Gläubige Gemeinde, 1970, Nr. 40, 1970-09-28, page 214〕 In November 1968 Däniken was arrested for fraud, after falsifying hotel records and credit references in order to take out loans for $130,000 over a period of twelve years. He used the money for foreign travel to research his book.〔 Two years later,〔 Däniken was convicted for "repeated and sustained" embezzlement, fraud and forgery, with the court ruling that the writer had been living a "playboy" lifestyle. He unsuccessfully entered a plea of nullity, on the grounds that his intentions were not malicious and that the credit institutions were at fault for failing adequately to research his references,〔〔〔 and on 13 February 1970 he was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment and was also fined 3,000 francs.〔〔Däniken's side of the story is given in Krassa, pages 96–107.〕 He served one year of this sentence before being released.〔〔Transcripts of Däniken's letters to his wife Elizabeth (whom he married in 1959), during this period are provided in Krassa, pages 130–135.〕 His first book, ''Chariots of the Gods?'', had been published by the time of his trial, and its sales allowed him to repay his debts and leave the hotel business. Däniken wrote his second book, ''Gods from Outer Space'', while in prison.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Erich von Däniken」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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