Charles Alphonso Smith (May 28, 1864 – June 13, 1924) was an American professor of English, college dean, philologist, and folklorist.

Growing up in Greensboro, he was acquainted with William Sydney Porter, working then as a clerk, later to become the writer known as O. Henry.

He moved to the University of North Carolina in 1902 as head of its English department, and was appointed the first dean of its graduate school in 1903.

[1] An important collection of his research, Traditional Ballads of Virginia, was edited by A. K. Davis, Jr. and published posthumously in 1929.

[3] Smith's two most famous books are What Can Literature Do for Me?, a popular introduction to literary studies, and his biography of O. Henry, a more serious, academic work.