Charles Edward Patterson (May 3, 1842 – February 22, 1913) was an American lawyer and politician.
He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Troy, New York where he became a partner in the firm of David L. Seymour whose daughter he married.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Rensselaer Co., 1st D.) in 1881 and 1882; and was elected Speaker on February 2, 1882, after a month-long struggle of the different factions of the Democratic Party.
The rural Democrats and the County Democracy had tried to oppose John Kelly and Tammany Hall, but eventually came to terms.
Charles E. Patterson died in Augusta, Georgia on February 22, 1913.