Charles Sparks Thomas^[1] (September 28, 1897 – October 17, 1983)^[2] was an American politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1954 to 1957.

Thomas was born in Independence, Missouri,^[3] and he attended the University of California and Cornell University. During World War I, he served as a naval aviator. He joined the Eisenhower Administration in 1953 as Undersecretary of the Navy; later that year, he designated an Assistant Secretary of Defense.

During the 1930s, Thomas worked for Foreman and Clark. Thomas became president of Trans World Airlines on 2 July 1958, and served until 28 July 1960.^[4] He subsequently was the president of the Irvine Company, which developed sprawling Southern California suburbs, through 1966. Thomas was director of several large corporations, including Lockheed.