Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 1st earl

Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 1st earl of

(born Aug. 24, 1561—died May 28, 1626, London, Eng.) English naval officer and politician. Son of the 4th duke of Norfolk, Howard held naval commands and distinguished himself in the attack on the Spanish Armada (1588). He led naval forays against the Spanish in the reign of Elizabeth I. Created earl of Suffolk in 1603, he served James I as lord chamberlain (1603–14) and lord high treasurer (1614–18). In 1618 he was deprived of his office on charges of embezzlement and was briefly imprisoned with his wife, who had taken bribes from Spain.