His mother was Margaret Pentland from County Louth and his father was a merchant named Joseph Shekleton.
[2][3] As the age of 15, Shekleton began training in medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland under Abraham Colles.
Shekleton presented a mercury injection of the lymph system of the lower limb and was appointed as curator with a salary of £30 per annum.
[5][6] After Shekleton's sudden death at the age of 29, he was succeeded as curator by his apprentice John Houston.
[2] Shekleton's death on 18 May 1824 was attributed to sepsis from a needlestick injury acquired while performing an autopsy 11 days beforehand.