[1] In 1784, while a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, he perfected, with his own resources, an invention of what he called "spherical case" ammunition: a hollow cannonball filled with lead shot that burst in mid-air.

In 1803, the British Army adopted a similar but elongated explosive shell which immediately acquired the inventor's name.

After his invention's success in battle at Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam, Surinam, on 30 April 1804,[4] Shrapnel was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 20 July 1804, less than nine months later.

In 1814, the British Government recognized Shrapnel's contribution by awarding him £1,200 (equivalent to £106,023 in 2021) a year for life.

[7][8] His sister Rachel Shrapnel married the reverend Thomas Tregenna Biddulph.