Admiral Sir Charles Adam FRSE KCB (6 October 1780 – 19 September 1853) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and politician who served during the Napoleonic Wars.

In that capacity he dealt ably with the economies of a peacetime budget, provided naval support for the expulsion of Muhammad Ali's forces from Syria in 1840 and ensured technological progress continued.

[1] He served under his maternal uncle, Admiral Lord Keith, in the Mediterranean Fleet and during the capture of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch.

[1] Adam returned from the East Indies in 1802, and on 23 May 1803, was given command of the captured Chiffonne, which operated in the North Sea under Lord Keith until 1805.

[1] During his tenure, the Admiralty Board dealt ably with the economies of a peacetime budget, which his Whig loyalties prevented him from questioning.

The one major naval campaign of the era was the expulsion of Muhammad Ali's forces from Syria in 1840, an able demonstration of the continued strength of the Royal Navy.

During this time, technological progress continued at the Admiralty, with the decision to adapt Francis Pettit Smith's screw propeller, and the new battleship designs of Sir William Symonds in 1841.

From 17 August 1841 until 27 December 1844, he was commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station, aboard HMS Illustrious (flag-captain John Erskine).