Charles David White (July 1, 1862 – February 7, 1935), who normally went by his middle name, was an American geologist, born in Palmyra, New York.

He graduated from Cornell University in 1886, and in 1889 became a member of the United States Geological Survey.

The David White House, his home for 15 years, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

[1] He made one of the most comprehensive studies on the Glossopteris Flora, the main component of the fossil deposits of mineral coal in Brazil.

[6][7] He "himself considered that his structure-carbon ratio for the occurrence of oil and gas was his greatest scientific achievement.