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Robert Schomburgk (1804-1865) Robert Hermann Schomburgk was born in Freyburg (Freiburg) on 5 June 1804. Educated in Germany, Schomburgk developed an early interest in botany and the natural sciences. In 1828 he left for North America to work as a businessman. Unsuccessful as a tobacco farmer in Virginia, he experienced further bad luck on the island of St Thomas in the West Indies. As a result he decided to ‘devote himself to botany and natural history’ (van Dam, 2000). Schomburgk’s travels took him to the island of Anegada, an island associated with shipwrecks, which in 1831, he surveyed at his own expense. This survey was to bring him to the attention of the Royal Geographical Survey whose members were impressed with his observations and naturalist skills. This led to Schomburgk receiving instruction from the Society in 1834 to undertake an expedition to British Guiana to explore its interior which at that time was almost unknown. Schomburgk was to make three separate journeys into the interior of British Guiana between 1835 and 1839 under the direction of the Royal Geographical Society. These trips were primarily for botanical and geographical exploration but Schomburgk also observed settlements and collected numerous specimens. On his return to Europe in 1839, he brought with him a remarkable collection of natural history specimens that included many plants, birds, fish and animals as well as ethnological items. The specimens were given to numerous institutions including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Royal College of Surgeons and the Linnaean and Zoological Societies. The Natural History Museum was also presented with many specimens including birds, fish and dried plants in addition to a collection of fine botanical illustrations that were drawn by Schomburgk during his expedition. Schomburgk continued to travel and on many occasions was accompanied by his brother (Moritz) Richard Schomburgk (1811-1891). Robert Schomburgk was also commissioned to delineate the boundary between Guiana and Venezuela. Known as the ‘Schomburgk line’, it was a boundary that was to play a prominent part in the prolonged border disputes with Venezuela and Brazil. The most famous of his discoveries was that of the giant water lily Victoria Regia, named after Queen Victoria by the botanist and horticulturist John Lindley (1799 - 1865) (it was later renamed Victoria amazonica). In 1844, Schomburgk was knighted by Queen Victoria
and held British consulate posts in Santo Domingo
(1848) and Bangkok (1857). Due to declining health,
Schomburgk retired from service in 1864 and died
the following year at Schoneburg, Germany. According
to Roth (1922), Robert Schomburgk's publications
deserve to rank amongst the highest works on South
American travel and adventure.
The Malabar or Guyana Chestnut (Pachira aquatica) are very large flowering trees and are members of the Bombacaceae Family. These trees are naturally found along estuaries and lakeshores in the tropical rainforests of Mexico, Central and South America, where they can grow up to heights of 20 metres. Their beautiful flowers which are particularly fragrant in the evening, consist of five long petals surrounded by a spray of pink stamens. Its fruit which are brown pods can grow up to one foot long and contain large edible seeds.
The Robert Schomburgk Drawings Collection The library holds two volumes of unpublished watercolour drawings by Robert Schomburgk. The collection of 308 drawings are mainly of the plants of Guiana but these are accompanied by a handful of scenic drawings of the surroundings.
Exhibition and publication details This collection of drawings have not previously been displayed to the public before.
References and further reading Boase, G. C. (2004) Schomburgk, Sir Robert Hermann
(1804-1865) ; rev. Peter Riviere, Oxford Dictionary
of National Biography, Oxford University Press.
Robert Schomburgk: An early scientist in Guyana. Reprinted from Stabroek News - June. 2004 (Accessed 06/03/07) Rodway, J. (1889) The Schomburgks in Guiana. Timehri, vol.3, New Series (1889), pp.1-29 Roth, W. E. (1922-3) Richard Schomburgk’s travels in British Guiana. Georgetown. 2 vols. Van Dam, J. A. C. (2002) Flora of the Guianas.
Supplementary Series, Fascicle 3. Royal Botanic
Gardens: Kew. 211pp.
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