Emil J. Gumbel (1891-1966) began his career simply as a professor of mathematical statistics in Heidelberg, but he is most remembered as a political activist militantly advocating for pacifism during the complicated and volatile times of the Weimar Republic in Germany. As a Jew with left-wing socialist and democratic sensibilities, he was exiled to France and later America. Ironically, the same writings on political terror and politicized justice in Nazi Germany that caused his ostracization saved his life. A courageous man, Gumbel spoke out passionately against the Nazis and came to symbolize a one-man party at the centre of controversy in German academia. His intellectual and moral vigour never waned, and despite his significant scientific contributions, it is his legacy of political ideology that endures for later generations to learn from. This biography chronicles the public life of a man not entirely part of the political or the academic world, but who has earned his place in history nonetheless.