Admiral Sir Charles Knowles, 1st Baronet was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy, seeing service during the War of Jenkins' Ear, the wider War of the Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years' War. He also briefly served under the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish War. He rose to the rank of Admiral in a long and varied career, crowned with both success, and at times, controversy.

The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and Spain. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It was related to the 1740 to 1748 War of the Austrian Succession. The name was coined in 1858 by British historian Thomas Carlyle, and refers to Robert Jenkins, captain of the British brig Rebecca, whose ear was allegedly severed by Spanish coast guards while searching his ship for contraband in April 1731.