Charles Francis Meserve (1850–1936) was an American educator, university president, academic administrator, and author.

[1][2] Charles Francis Meserve was born on July 15, 1850, in Abington, Massachusetts.

[3][2] His parents were Susan Smith Blanchard and Charles Meserve, a shoemaker and farmer.

[3] Under his leadership Shaw University improved the curriculum, and increased the size of the industrial department.

The National Archives and Records Administration contains a 1897 letter from Meserve to Daniel M. Browning concerning the recent punishment of Richard Henry Pratt.