Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire (8 October 1587 – 16 July 1669) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1605 and 1622.

[1] He was made a knight of the Bath in January 1605, when Prince Charles was created Duke of York.

[2] Howard held a large number of local offices and was Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1628.

[2] At the start of the English Civil War he was imprisoned by parliament, charged with attempting to execute the king's commission of array in Oxfordshire.

[5] He was subsequently released, according to Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon because he was an ineffectual man 'that could do no harm any where'.