Rear-Admiral Hood Hanway Christian (23 July 1784 – 31 August 1849) was a British naval officer who reached the rank of Rear-Admiral. He fought in several naval engagements during the Napoleonic Wars between 1800 and 1814. Later he was Commodore of the naval squadron based on the Cape of Good Hope.
In October 1804 he was made an Acting Captain for his service in the Bay of Bengal. He commanded the Arrogant from January to March 1805. On 21 March 1805 he was promoted to Commander. He commanded the Sir Edward Hughes from April 1805 to January 1806. On 30 January 1806 he was made Captain at the age of twenty two.
On 29 February 1808 Christian married Harriet Shute, daughter of Samuel Shute, in Bath Abbey. They had three daughters and four sons. Their oldest son, Thomas Hompesch Christian (1810 - 1858), also joined the navy and reached the rank of commander.
Christian commanded HMS Heroine (formerly Venus) from March to November 1809. In this 32-gun frigate he participated in the reduction of Flushing in 1809 during the Walcheren Campaign. The Heroine was part of a squadron of ten frigates under the command of Captain Lord William Stuart. On 11 August 1809 this squadron sailed up the Western Scheldt under a light wind, suffering minor damage from the shore batteries of Flushing and Cadzand. Two men were wounded on the Heroine. On 13 August seven 74-gun line-of-battle ships under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan entered the river and began an intense bombardment of Flushing that lasted until the town surrendered on 15 August.
Christian was Captain of the Iris from May 1811 to 1813. This 38-gun ship was part of the squadron that assisted Spanish patriots on the north coast of Spain in 1811 and 1812. In 1813 he captured three American ships sailing under letters of marque: the 12-gun Union and the 6-gun Cashier and Price. The American schooner Price was captured on 15 April 1813, and the prize money was shared by agreement with the captain and crew of HMS Surveillante. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, Christian disappears from the records for the next decade.