Frank Michael Sheldon was born in England in 1918. He graduated from Oxford University with a B.A. and an M.A. in History. In 1938 he began teaching English in Roumania. In 1940 he married Maire Claire (Mimi) Moisescu in Bucharest. He worked for British Army Intelligence during World War II. Decommissioned in 1945, he worked for the British Embassy in Belgium 1945-1947, and then British European Airways 1947-1948. He emigrated to Canada in 1948. He worked briefly for the Bank of Montreal and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before joining Bell Canada's public relations office. In the 1960s he worked for the pharmaceutical company Smith Kline & French and in 1967 he became executive assistant to the principal of Bishop's University. In 1969 he joined Concordia University founding institution Sir George Williams College as assistant to the principal. Following the 1974 merger of SGW with Loyola College to form Concordia University, Michael Sheldon became executive assistant to the Rector of Concordia, where he remained until his retirement in 1985.
Sheldon published four novels: The Guilded Rule (1963), The Unmelting Pot (1965), The Personnel Man (1966), and Death of a Leader (1971). He also wrote numerous articles and short stories that were published in Canadian magazines, and a number of radio plays.
Michael Sheldon and his wife had three children: Christopher Charles, born in 1943, Sheila Janine, born 1948, and Anthony Michael, born 1950. Mimi Moisescu Sheldon died in 1985. In 1987 Michael Sheldon married Lotte Marcus. They moved to Victoria in 1996. Lotte died in 1998, and Michael Sheldon died in 2001.
Published
Most of the documents in the fonds are related to Michael Sheldon's career as a writer. They include copies of his fictional books; copies of magazines containing articles that he wrote, including some that were ghost-written by Michael Sheldon for executives of companies where he worked; manuscripts and articles on public relations practice; tear-sheets and clippings; and correspondence.
The documents were given to the Concordia University Archives in 2002 by Michael Sheldon's daughter Sheila Sheldon Collyer.