[3][4] Born on October 26, 1853, he spent most of his life in Cambridge, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in the class of 1874; his thesis being a design for a Murphy-Whipple truss bridge.

[5] Immediately following graduation he continued his studies in some non-degree capacity at his alma mater.

[6] During his professional career, his office was located in Boston, Massachusetts.

[7] He died of heart failure at the age of 65, on October 3, 1919.

[3] Shaw was responsible for a number of bridges in New England, including: Shaw also held at least 3 patents, including one for the draw bridge, one for a railway superstructure design, and even a design for an electric locomotive.