Born at Saffron Walden in Essex, Smith was the second son of John Smith of Walden by Agnes, daughter of John Charnock of Lancashire. The Smiths of Essex are said to be descendants of Sir Roger de Clarendon, an illegitimate son of the Black Prince. He was educated at
Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow in 1530, and, in 1533, was appointed a public reader or professor. He lectured in the schools on
natural philosophy, and on
Greek in his own College. In 1540, Smith went abroad, and, after studying in France and Italy and taking a degree in law at the
University of Padua, he returned to Cambridge in 1542. He took the lead in the reform of the pronunciation of Greek, his views being universally adopted after considerable controversy. He and his friend, Sir
John Cheke, were the great classical scholars of the time in England. In January
1543/44 he was appointed the first
Regius Professor of Civil Law. He was vice-chancellor of the university the same year. In 1547, he became Provost of
Eton College and Dean of
Carlisle Cathedral. Sir Thomas was an early convert to Protestantism, which brought him into prominence when
Edward VI came to the throne. During the protectorate of
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, he entered public life and was made the
Secretary of State, and was sent on an important diplomatic mission to
Brussels. In 1548, he was
knighted. On the accession of
Queen Mary I he lost all his offices, but in the reign of her sister,
Elizabeth I, he was prominently employed in public affairs. He was returned as Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1559. It became clear that he supported the religious settlement and Confessions of Westminster (1560), sitting on two committees of Inquiry. When an expert handler of the son of the King of Sweden visiting Westminster, he was sent in 1562 as
ambassador to France as an emerging diplomatic talent; he remained in France from September 1562 with experienced envoy Sir
Nicholas Throckmorton. Smith came to dagger blows with Throckmorton over character and policy differences. He returned from France in disgrace after suffering illness in April 1566. Nonetheless, Smith remained one of Elizabeth's most trusted Protestant counsellors. He had long been a friend of
Sir William Cecil. Ennobled as Lord Burghley, Cecil appointed Smith to the Privy Council, only a month before he was elected to Commons as a knight of the shire for Essex. Smith, a prime mover behind the Conformity Bills, sought to restrain extremism and secure a subsidy from his fellow members. But when he proposed that the bishops be consulted, the
puritan William Fleetwood defeated his motion. As a Privy Councillor he was influential on a number of committees. He spoke on the Treason Bill on the floor of the house, and examined witnesses to the Catholic plot led by the Duke of Norfolk. He was noted as upholding a religious objection to torture. His outstanding work elevated him to the higher ministerial echelons: in 1572 he was appointed
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter and in July, principal secretary. In 1572, Smith again went to France as an ambassador for a short time, and attended the receptions held at the arrival of
Lord Clinton. Smith, Clinton, and
Francis Walsingham had an audience with
Catherine de' Medici at the Madrid Palace (while she was in bed) and
Charles IX of France showed them her gardens and banqueting pavilion at the
Tuileries Palace. ==Failed colony in Ireland==