About Erich von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken was a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which made claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken was one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses. In 1966, when Däniken was writing his first book, scientists Carl Sagan and I. The idea did not originate with Däniken; it began after people who first saw the lines from the air made joking comparisons to Martian "canals", and had already been published by others. 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. 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.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.