Wilson

Wilson is the first available character and the main Character in Don't Starve. He is an intrepid Gentleman Scientist who has been trapped by a supposed demon and transported to a mysterious wilderness world in which he must survive and, most importantly, not starve. As the game progresses, he grows a Beard which can be shaved by a Razor and used to make Meat Effigies. The Beard also gives Wilson some protection from freezing during Winter depending on its size.

Origin
With a Forbidden Knowledge Video recently published to Klei Entertainment's YouTube channel and hidden in their website, Wilson's origin was revealed. He is for now the only character ingame with official lore.

Wilson used to live on a rickety wooden house in the mountains, doing experiments all day. These experiments tended to fail and Wilson was rather depressed about the whole thing. Then suddenly he heard a mysterious voice coming from his radio (Maxwell). This voice offered Wilson forbidden knowledge and Wilson agreed, which caused huge amounts of information to be inserted into his head.

So he started building a mysterious machine with the knowledge given to him. When the machine was finished, he pulled the switch and the machine started moving. It was shockingly revealed to him that the machine was actually some kind of demonic trap and it was a part of Maxwell's evil plan all along. Then suddenly demonic hands appeared from the floor and pulled Wilson into the mysterious wilderness world in which Don't Starve takes place.

Trivia

 * Wilson's voice is sounded by a trumpet, explained as a "Harmon muted trumpet (mixed with some cup muted trumpet as well)".
 * Wilson's full name is Wilson Percival Higgsbury.
 * Wilson shouting, "Go for the eyes!" references the Baldur's Gate series, in which Minsc will shout "Go for the eyes, Boo. Go for the eyes!" It could also be referencing one of the other countless times the generic phrase, "Go for the eyes!" has been mentioned in literature.
 * Wilson's hair is a wearable hat in Team Fortress 2, and goes by the name "The Wilson Weave"
 * With the introduction of the Insanity update, Wilson was no longer the only character that could build Meat Effigies.
 * A shadow version of Wilson holding an axe can sometimes be seen on the title screen.