Several notable people are called Charles Wilson:

• Charles Wilson (politician) is a US Congressman
• Charles Wilson (physicist) was a 19th Century physicist
• Charles Wilson (historian)
• Charles Wilson (Montreal mayor) was the first elected mayor of Montreal in the 19th century
• Charles A. "Charlie" Wilson Jr. is a member of the Ohio Senate
• Charlie Wilson (train robber) was a member of the gang that performed the Great train robbery in 1963.

Also,

Two different Charles E. Wilsons served in the United States government during the beginning of the Cold War:

• Charles E. Wilson - ("Engine Charlie") was the head of General Motors and the United States Secretary of Defense from 1953-57 under President Eisenhower.
• Charles E. Wilson - ("Electric Charlie") was the CEO of General Electric and the head of the Office of Defense Mobilization under President Truman.

The respectively nicknames were given at the time so that the two men could be more easily distinguished.