Sir Charles Justin MacCarthy (1811–1864)[1] was the 12th Governor of British Ceylon and the 12th Accountant General and Controller of Revenue.

[2][3] His parents were Donough and Mary MacCarthy, and he was born in Brighton.

[4][5] He was a relation of Nicholas Wiseman, and in the early 1830s was in Rome, with a view to entering the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Under the influence of the ideas of Lamennais, however, he ceased theological studies.

In Rome through Wiseman he met Monckton Milnes, who became a lifelong friend.