Charles Sheard earned his BA from St. Lawrence University in 1903 (later his D.Sc. in 1930), his MA from Dartmouth in 1907, and Ph.D. in 1912 from Princeton. In 1953, he received a D.O.S. from the Los Angeles college of Optometry. He joined Ohio State University in 1907, and he established the optometry program, known as Applied Optics until 1937.

In 1919, he left Ohio State to join the American Optical Company as head of ocular interests. He remained there until 1924 when he joined the Mayo Foundation. He remained there until his retirement in 1949. He remained active in the community well after his retirement, even serving as interim dean of the Los Angeles college of Optometry from 1952 to 1953.

His research was widely recognized, and he was a Fellow of many professional organizations, including OSA. In 1957, OSA awarded him the Edgar D. Tillyer Award for his work.

He passed away in 1963.