W Raymond Drake

Walter Raymond Drake, a British writer active from 1913 to 1989, was a follower of Charles Fort's work. He authored nine books focusing on the ancient astronaut theme, with his earliest publications appearing before Erich von Däniken's widely successful "Chariots of the Gods." Drake's central thesis proposed that ancient civilizations were either offshoots of extraterrestrial colonies that eventually lost their advanced knowledge and integrated with humanity, or that human history was significantly shaped by encounters with aliens. These theories are categorized as pseudohistory.

Drake dedicated considerable time to researching extensive archives, seeking evidence of anomalies that could support his ideas about extraterrestrial influence on human development. He aimed to compile historical accounts from ancient literature, mirroring Charles Fort's approach to documenting unusual phenomena in more recent times. His work found a readership in the United States, where paperback versions of his initial books achieved moderate success in the 1970s, often displayed alongside von Däniken's books. A contemporary British author with a somewhat similar focus was Harold T. Wilkins.

W. Raymond Drake's body of work centered on the concept of ancient astronauts, proposing that extraterrestrial beings played a significant role in the development of early human civilizations. He theorized that these ancient societies might have originated as colonies established by spacefaring entities. Over time, these colonies purportedly lost their advanced technological understanding and became indistinguishable from the general human population. Alternatively, Drake suggested that human history was influenced by direct contact with alien visitors, leading to the formation of many distinct ancient cultures. These ideas, while explored extensively by Drake, are generally classified as pseudohistory by mainstream academic consensus.

Drake's approach involved extensive archival research, meticulously sifting through vast collections of historical material. His goal was to identify and document anomalies and occurrences that he believed supported his hypotheses regarding alien intervention in human history. He explicitly stated his intention to gather as much factual information as possible from ancient texts to create a historical record of the past, analogous to Charles Fort's documentation of modern-day anomalies. This dedication to compiling evidence from historical literature was a cornerstone of his investigative method.

“I aspired to collect as many facts as possible from ancient literature to chronicle for the past what Charles Fort has so brilliantly done for the present century.”