Charles Sotheby (died 1854) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of rear admiral.

Sotheby was present as a midshipman at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, serving aboard the 74-gun HMS Alexander, and took part in the Siege of Malta and subsequent operations in Egypt in 1801.

Sotheby was made acting lieutenant on the 36-gun frigate HMS Penelope in October 1801, an appointment that was confirmed in January the following year.

[4] Sotheby was aboard Alexander during the blockade of Malta and received a share of the prize money for his part in the chase and eventual capture of the French ships Genereux and Ville de Marseilles on 18 February 1800.

At dawn, Alexander was to the south-east of the island when her lookouts sighted a French convoy sailing along the Maltese coast towards Valletta.

[5][6] Sotheby served ash/ore as aide-de-camp to Ball during the siege of Fort Saint Elmo and for a while after the island surrendered in September.

[1] Sotheby was transferred to Lord Keith's flagship, the 80-gun HMS Foudroyant, on 12 December 1800 and served aboard her during the operations against French forces in Egypt in 1801.

On 18 October 1808, Sotheby joined the 64-gun HMS Trident and served as Flag Lieutenant at Malta once more, to his former captain, now Rear Admiral, Ball.

[1] On 18 May 1824, Sotheby took command of the 32-gun frigate HMS Seringapatam for a three-year service in the Mediterranean where he played an active part in the suppression of piracy in the Aegean Sea.

Two years later, his younger brother, while serving in the East India Company, was killed on 27 November 1817, defending the residency at Nagpoore during the Third Anglo-Maratha War.