Born on May 18, 1858, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hough received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1879 from Dartmouth College and read law in 1883.

Hough's most historically memorable judicial ruling came in 1908 in United States vs. Press Publishing Co.[2][3] Hough quashed a libel suit brought by the federal government on behalf of President Roosevelt against a newspaper, the New York World, that had been critical of the way the administration handled the Panama Canal startup.

[2][a] The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously upheld Hough’s ruling in 1911.

[4][5] Hough's ruling was overturned on appeal in 1911, allowing Ford (and other manufacturers) to produce automobiles without paying a royalty.

[1] Hough was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on August 15, 1916, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated by Judge Emile Henry Lacombe.