Thomas Patrick Thornton (March 8, 1898 – July 1, 1985) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Thornton received an LL.B. from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1926. He was in private practice in Detroit, Michigan from 1926 to 1937. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Michigan from 1937 to 1944. He was a Chief assistant U.S. attorney of Eastern District of Michigan from 1944 to 1947. He was the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1947 to 1949.
Thornton was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Thornton was nominated by President Harry S. Truman on January 13, 1949, to a seat vacated by Ernest Aloysius O'Brien. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 1949, and received his commission on February 2, 1949. He assumed senior status on February 15, 1966. Thornton served in that capacity until July 1, 1985, due to his death.