Thomas Lake, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1567)

Sir Thomas Lake PC (1561 – 17 September 1630) was Secretary of State to James I of England. He was a Member of Parliament between 1593 and 1626.

Thomas Lake was baptised in Southampton on 11 October 1561, the son of Almeric Lake, a minor customs official: his obscure birth was a source of much unkind comment by his enemies throughout his life. Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, was his older brother.

He attended King Edward VI School, Southampton as a day boy. This meant that he did not have the level of French language tuition accorded to boarders by his Belgian schoolmaster Adrian Saravia, which was a source of regret to him in later life. He did, however, gain excellent fluency in Latin.