Charles Landon Carter Minor was born December 3, 1835 in Hanover, Virginia to Lucius H. Minor and Catherine Frances Berkeley Minor. Charles Minor attended the University of Virginia, graduating with a Mater of the Arts in 1858. During the Civil War, Minor served under Stonewall Jackson and saw action at Manassas and in battles around Richmond. Following the war he started a private school, but soon was offered and accepted the position of President at the Maryland Agricultural College. He went on to preside over the University of the South in Tennessee. Having been offered the presidency of the newly established Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, Minor opened the school in 1872.

During his presidency, Minor petitioned for and was appropriated money to expand the campus from the one building it had at the time, the Preston and Olin building. A library was also established during his term. Minor was removed from office in 1879 following a physical dispute with Professor James H. Lane over taking a more martial organization of the college. Following his dismissal from VAMC, Minor continued to teach at institutions throughout Virginia.

Charles Minor married Frances Ansley Cazenove, daughter of Lewis Casenove, Esq., of Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860. Together they had two children, Fannie, who married the Rev. James F. Plummer, of Washington, D. C., and Anne Cazenove, who married the Rev. Andrew G. Grinnan, of Weston, West Virginia. Charles Minor died at the home of his brother-in-law, R. M. Fontaine, Esq., in Albemarle county, Virginia, on July 13, 1903.