Charles James (27 April 1880 – 10 December 1928) was a chemist of British origin working in the United States. He became a professor and head of the chemistry department at the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (now the University of New Hampshire) in Durham, New Hampshire, US.
James developed the James method for the separation and identification of rare-earth elements by fractional precipitation and crystallization, and provided extracted elements to researchers worldwide.  James was one of the first scientists to identify element 71, later named lutetium, and believed that he had found the final rare earth element 61, later named promethium.
In 1999 the American Chemical Society recognized Charles James's work in chemical separations as a National Historic Chemical Landmark.