[2] He was the Adjutant General of Ohio from 1915 to 1916, serving in the United States Army during World War I from 1917 to 1919.

[1] Hough was elected as a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, serving from 1920 to 1923.

[2] Hough was nominated by President Calvin Coolidge on January 31, 1925, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio vacated by Judge John Elbert Sater.

[2] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 9, 1925, and received his commission the same day.

[2] His service terminated on November 19, 1935, due to his death at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio.