Charles Ledger (4 March 1818 – 19 May 1905)[1] was an alpaca farmer noted for his work in connection with quinine, a treatment for malaria.

It was at Lima that Charles rescued a drowning native Manuel Incra Mamani, who offered to become his servant.

In 1847 he was grazing sheep and cattle half-way between Tacna and La Paz, and in 1852 went to Sydney to inquire into the possibility of introducing the alpaca into Australia.

Losing his savings in the bank failures of the early 1890s, efforts were made by Sir Clements Markham and others to obtain some provision for Ledger from the Indian and Dutch governments.

Initially this was refused, but in 1897 on Ledger's 79th birthday, he received news that the Dutch government had granted him an annuity of £100 a year.

Ledger did a great service to the world, as millions of cinchona trees grown in India and Java sprang originally from the seeds he collected.