Charles Haslewood Shannon was born on April 26, 1863 in Quarrington, Lincolnshire, England. He studied wood engraving at the Lambeth Art School from 1881-1885. It was in this period he met his lifelong partner, artist and printer, Charles de Sousy Ricketts.

The two lived in London, where together they founded an occasional art journal, The Dial (1889-1897) and designed and illustrated books, including Daphnis and Chloe (1893) and Hero and Leander (1894). In partnership with wealthy lawyer William Llewellyn Hacon, Ricketts and Shannon ran their own imprint, called the Vale Press, from 1896-1904. The Vale Press published over eighty volumes.

In this period Shannon also developed his skills as a painter and lithographer. Today, his paintings can be found in museum collections around the world, including the Musee d'Orsay and the Tate. His body of lithographic work contains more than 100 works and is considered a major British contribution to printmaking.

In 1929, Shannon fell while hanging a picture in the home he shared with Ricketts and suffered brain damage from which he never recovered. He died in London on March 18, 1937.