Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929), also known as Charlie Goodnight, was an American cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas.
He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J.
Frank Dobie said that Goodnight "approached greatness more nearly than any other cowman of history." In 1955, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.