Thomas Hunt was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England on 29 May 1884. He was the son of Isaac Hunt (b. 1853) and Harriet Rusher (1862-1900). His father was from Southampton and his mother from Wiltshire and they had married in Wiltshire in 1879. They would have six children: George (b. 1877), Sylvester (b. 1887), Rose (b. 1894), James (b. 1896), Albert Sylvanus (b. 1889) and Thomas.

Thomas first appears on the 1891 census living at 27 Queen Street, St Mary Southampton, and on the 1901 census the family are listed at 3 Castle Court, Southampton and he is described as a seaman. 

He signed-on to the Titanic on 6 April 1912. His previous ship had been the Minnewaska, and his address as 2 Queen Street, St Marys, Southampton. As a fireman he would receive pay of £6 per month. Also serving on the Titanic was his brother Albert Sylvanus Hunt, a trimmer, and his brother-in-law William Albert Hebb.

Thomas Hunt, who was unmarried, died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. His parents received financial aid from the Titanic relief fund ¹.