Cyrus Cotton Hungerford was born in Manila, Indiana, but grew up in Parkersburg, West Verginia. His first cartoon was published on the 21st of September 1903 in the Parkersburg Sentinel. Hungerford worked as a newspaper cartoonist his entire career. He worked for the Wheeling Register, the Pittsburgh Sun (from 1912) and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (from 1927). He worked for the latter until his retirement in 1977. Between 1915 and 1925 he did the syndicated daily 'Snoodles' strip. During World War II Hungerford aided the war effort by drawing defense posters.