Charles Hamilton (handwriting expert)

Charles Hamilton (1914 – December 11, 1996) was a paleographer, handwriting expert and author of historical works. He invented the term "philography" as another term that describes his profession. He is the author of a number of books on this topic. He was also an autograph dealer. He died in New York City at the age of 82.

Hamilton was born in Ludington, Michigan and grew up in Flint, Michigan, and then in Los Angeles. His father was in the lumber business. At the age of twelve he collected his first autograph, which was Rudyard Kipling's. Kipling was well known for refusing requests for autographs, but Hamilton, who had just read The Jungle Book, included a dime for the return postage, and told Kipling that the dime was Hamilton's allowance for carrying out ashes from the furnace. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School, as the valedictorian of his class. He then received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in English literature from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was a voracious reader of literature and history.

In the 1930s he moved to New York City to work in publishing. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942, and during World War II, he won a bronze star and six battle stars. In 1945, after his service, he returned to New York City and began seriously dealing in autographs and manuscripts. He was called upon by the New York City police to consult in a number of notable cases, including the hunt for the Zodiac Killer. In a notable case, he called the so-called Hitler Diaries, "patent and obvious forgeries." The British historian who was claiming them to be authentic eventually changed his mind and sided with Hamilton; the forger was unmasked and convicted in 1983.

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