A long-time resident of Montgomery County, Charles Gilchrist was the second County Executive in the County's history. He ran the affairs of a County equal to 6 of the 50 states in size (600,000 population at the time), with an operating budget of almost $1 billion and nearly 20,000 employees. 

Charlie Gilchrist was born on November 12, 1936, in Washington, D.C. and did his early schooling at St. Albans in Washington. He graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in 1958 as a Phi Beta Kappa and later earned a law degree from Harvard Law School. 

A member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar Associations, Charlie Gilchrist practiced with law firms in Baltimore and Washington. A tax law specialist, he has lectured and authored materials on federal tax matters and pension legislation for the New York University Institute on Federal Taxation. 

Charlie Gilchrist was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1975 where he was active on numerous committees and commissions, including the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Ethics Committee. He won election as County Executive in 1978 and again in 1982. 

Charlie Gilchrist and his wife Phoebe were active members of their Rockville community where they lived with their three children.