Sir Charles Hardy was a Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1764 and 1780. He served as colonial governor of New York from 1755 to 1757.

Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, also known as Sir Charles Hardy the Elder, was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century. Hardy entered the Royal Navy in 1695, joining his cousin Captain Thomas Hardy's ship HMS Pendennis. Promoted to lieutenant in 1701, he served in several ships of the line before being promoted to commander in 1705. Hardy commanded sloops in the English Channel, Mediterranean and North Seas, before taking command of HMS Dunwich in 1709, in which he was promoted to post captain. Hardy subsequently served for a year at Jamaica before commanding two ships during the Great Northern War between 1718 and 1720. Having changed commands several times, in 1727 he fought at the thirteenth siege of Gibraltar in HMS Kent.