He also comes from one of New York's most prominent business families, the Houghtons. After being born in Corning, New York and he went to St. Paul's School, which is located in Concord, New Hampshire. After graduating from high school, he served in the Marine Corps during World War II. He then went on to attend Harvard University in 1950. Then after graduating, he went on to work for Corning Glass Works, where he served as the chairman and CEO. The company, which is now known as Corning Incorporated, was founded by his great grandfather, Armory Houghton, in 1851. In 1986 he was voted into the US House of Representatives under the Republican party. It was also well known that, at the time of his election, Houghton was named as one of the richest members of the house. Even though much of those funds were inherited by way of trusts and he had no access to them at the time.
