His family wished him to train for the ministry of the Lutheran Church for which he moved to the University of Tübingen.

His mother moved to England, and when he visited the country in 1855, he met John Edward Gray and Professor Richard Owen at the British Museum.

This led to an offer to work at the British Museum in 1857, where his first task was to classify 2000 snake specimens.

After the death of John Edward Gray in 1875, Günther was appointed Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum, a position he held until 1895.

[6] Fossil and genetic evidence have subsequently confirmed Günther's assertion, and the tuatara is now recognised as the only living member of a once diverse lineage that shared a common ancestor with Squamata (lizards and snakes) over 240 million years ago.

[9] He married, firstly, in 1868, Roberta Mitchell née McIntosh (1842–1869), sister of William M'Intosh.