Butterfly King Lincoln Brower passes away

Former UF professor emeritus and renowned expert of the monarch butterfly Lincoln Brower died July 17 at the age of 86.

Brower’s wife, Linda Fink, confirmed July 20 that he passed away at their home in Roseland, Virginia, due to Parkinson’s disease.

“He was always a pretty happy fellow and … a life of the party,” said Brower’s son Andrew, a professor of biology at Middle Tennessee State University. “Whatever room he came in, everybody liked him and respected him a lot.”

Brower dedicated his life to studying the monarch butterfly, observing their migration patterns and advocating for their protection. He produced eight films, two books and more than 200 scientific papers throughout his career.

“He was very humble and enthusiastic, interested in everything, a very gracious gentleman — just a wonderful human being,” said UF professor emeritus of biology and Brower’s former colleague Jane Brockman.

Brower was born Sep. 10, 1931, in Summit, New Jersey. Andrew Brower said his father’s interest in butterflies began around the age of 12 or 13.

Brower received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Princeton University in 1953 and began studying butterflies while earning his Ph.D. in zoology at Yale University in 1957. He went on to teach at Amherst College in Massachusetts from 1958 to 1980 before coming to UF in 1980.

Andrew Brower said his father’s favorite part of teaching at UF was being able to educate graduate students.

“He loved interacting with students who were enthusiastic about natural history like he was,” Andrew Brower said.

Brockman said Brower was devoted to the education and communication of natural history and chemical ecology, the study of chemistry and biology’s interactions in the environment. She said Brower developed an active research program within the department and upgraded the research capabilities of the university.

“He was a really wonderful addition to our department,” Brockman said.

One of Brower’s most notable research projects had to do with the butterflies’ migration. He discovered that butterflies in the Northeast fly thousands of miles to the mountains of central Mexico during the wintertime.

This was a fascinating discovery because the butterflies had never been to Mexico but shared the lineage of ones that had traveled during a previous migration cycle, said Brockman.

Brower’s passion for the monarch sustained throughout his career. Toward the end, he focused on conservation efforts, such as educating and helping local Mexicans in the wintering region in a quest to save the forestry of the butterfly.

Andrew Brower adopted his father’s love for the insect, and he also has taken to studying butterflies.

He believes his father’s legacy and efforts will leave a lasting impact in the field of science.

Follow Dana Cassidy on Twitter @danacassidy_ and contact her at dcassidy@alligator.org.

Lincoln Brower wears a monarch butterfly costume. “He was very humble and enthusiastic, interested in everything, a very gracious gentleman — just a wonderful human being,” said his former colleague Jane Brockman.