Schomburgk was educated in Germany, and in 1829 he went to the United States and from there in 1831 visited Anegada, one of the British Virgin Islands. He surveyed it and noted the frequency of the wrecks, particularly of U.S. ships, which occurred upon it. In 1835 the Royal Geographical Society sent Schomburgk to explore British Guiana. On this trip he discovered the giant water lily, Victoria regia, and in 1840 produced his Description of British Guiana. In 1841 he surveyed the colony and fixed its boundary, being knighted on his return to England in 1844. He continued his geographical surveys as British consul to Santo Domingo (1848), now the Dominican Republic, and to Bangkok (1857) in Siam, now Thailand. His health declining, he retired in December 1864.