[1] He was born on January 8, 1871, in the French overseas colony of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland.

Following the war, he alternated assignments in the Naval Intelligence office with ship-board duties.

In 1922, while still a Captain, he was appointed as the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, a role that he only acted in for a year.

Hough was the first non-acting military governor to govern as a Captain, rather than a Rear Admiral, and the first not to be born in the United States.

In 1923, he was appointed as Director of Naval Intelligence and the following year on June 14, 1924, he was promoted to Rear Admiral.