Background
Sheldon was born a United States citizen at Hörsching in Upper Austria.
Sheldon was born a United States citizen at Hörsching in Upper Austria.
He was educated at Yale University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology & Geophysics in 1974 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Biology in 1986.
Sheldon has served in various academic positions, most notably as Curator of Birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and Curator of Genetic Resources at the Museum of Natural Science Louisiana State University (Louisiana State University). He became a full curator/professor at Louisiana State University in 2000, and is currently Director of the Museum of Natural Sciences. His main areas of research interest are avian systematics and evolution, and the natural history of the birds of the Malay Archipelago, especially those of Borneo.