James Laughlin Hughes was born on February 20, 1846, in Orono, Ontario.

He was a teacher, school inspector, and author. In 1866, he graduated from the Normal School of Toronto and became headmaster of the Frankford (County Hastings) school. In 1867, he became a teacher and later principal in the Provincial Model School, Toronto. He specialized in the study of the psychology of children. In 1874, he was appointed Chief Inspector of schools for the city of Toronto, a position he held until his retirement in 1913. He earned an international reputation in the field of primary education. The development of the public school system in Toronto over nearly four decades was in a great measure his work, as his advice was always sought and almost invariably accepted when innovations or expansions were under discussion. He was the author of several works, including "Dickens as an Educator" (1902), "Mistakes in Teaching” (1906), and "Froebel's Educational Laws" (1910).

About 1875 he married Annie Sutherland (1849-1884), in 1885, he married Adaline Augusta Marean (1848–1929), and in 1930, he married Estella Rounding (ca. 1894- ). He died on January 5, 1935, in Toronto, Ontario.