Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) with butterfly book, photographed for Life magazine

Throughout the early years of his writing career, Vladimir Nabokov used the modest sums he earned from his books to fund his other lifelong passion: studying butterflies. Among his achievements as a lepidopterologist was a groundbreaking hypothesis that Polyommatus blue butterflies had migrated from Asia to North America and then South America in five waves over time—a discovery that would not be confirmed until more than 50 years after his death. Nabokov continued his research on butterflies even after achieving literary success with Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962).