Emil Julius Gumbel facts for kids

Emil Julius Gumbel (born July 18, 1891, in Munich – died September 10, 1966, in New York City) was a German mathematician and political writer.

Gumbel was an expert in mathematical statistics. He helped create extreme value theory with other scientists like Leonard Tippett and Ronald Fisher. This theory helps predict rare events, like the biggest flood or the strongest earthquake. It is used in engineering and finance. In 1958, Gumbel wrote an important book called Statistics of Extremes. In it, he described a special way to understand data, which is now called the Gumbel distribution in his honor.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Gumbel was seen as unusual in Germany. He openly supported left-wing ideas and pacifism, which means he was against war. He also strongly opposed Fascism. He wrote about political violence happening in Germany, arguing that the government at the time, the Weimar Republic, was unfair to left-wing groups and not truly democratic. Gumbel spoke out against the Nazi Party. In 1932, he was one of 33 important people who signed a document called the Urgent Call for Unity, asking Germans to unite against the Nazis.

Emil Gumbel's Life Story

Emil Gumbel was born into a well-known Jewish family in Germany. He studied mathematics at the University of Munich. He finished his main university paper about population statistics just before World War I began.

After serving briefly in the military, he was released in 1915 due to health reasons. He then joined the University of Berlin. There, he worked with Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz, a famous statistician. From this time on, Gumbel became much more involved in politics.

Early Political Actions

In 1917, Gumbel joined the Independent Social Democrat Party. He also became a key member of a group called the New Fatherland League, which later changed its name to the German League for Human Rights. This group worked for peace and human rights.

In 1918, Gumbel started working at an electronics company called Telefunken. He researched sound waves there. He continued his political work with support from one of the company's founders, Georg Count von Arco, who also supported human rights.

Challenges at Heidelberg University

In 1922, Gumbel became a professor of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Heidelberg. Here, he found it much harder to combine his academic work with his political views. Many students and teachers were right-wing, and they protested against him. He also faced strong criticism from right-wing newspapers.

The Nazis especially disliked Gumbel because he was an outspoken intellectual. In 1932, he was forced to leave his job at Heidelberg.

Life in Exile

After leaving Germany, Gumbel moved to France. He taught at the École libre des hautes études in Paris and in Lyon. He also continued his political work, helping other refugees who had fled Germany.

When Germany invaded France in 1940, Gumbel had to leave Europe. He moved to the United States. There, he taught at the New School for Social Research and Columbia University in New York City. He continued teaching until he passed away in 1966.

After Gumbel died from lung cancer in 1966, his personal papers were collected. They are now part of "The Emil J. Gumbel Collection." These papers include many documents about his work against the Nazis.

People Who Influenced Emil Gumbel

Emil Gumbel was greatly influenced by his uncle, Abraham Gumbel. They had many long talks about politics and social issues. When Abraham's son (Emil's cousin) died in World War I, it made both Abraham and Emil commit to pacifism for the rest of their lives.

While at the University of Munich (1910-1914), Gumbel learned from important scholars with liberal political views. These included Alfred Pringsheim and Lujo Brentano. He also studied how insurance works and gained experience in that field. He completed his main university paper in 1914.

At the University of Berlin (1915-1922), Gumbel became close friends with Georg Friedrich Nicolai. Nicolai wrote a book called The Biology of War, which was banned by the German government because it promoted peace. Gumbel also met Albert Einstein, who was one of the people who started the German League for Human Rights. Einstein later strongly supported Gumbel's career.

Gumbel also formed a strong bond with the famous Russian statistician and economist Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz. Bortkiewicz thought Gumbel was a "gifted man with an uncommonly active mind." Bortkiewicz's recommendation helped Gumbel become a professor of mathematics at the University of Heidelberg in 1922.

After a prominent politician, Karl Liebknecht, was killed in 1919, Gumbel was horrified. He noticed that the court seemed to ignore evidence against the Nazi Brownshirts. Gumbel then deeply investigated many similar political killings. He published his findings in several books. These included Two Years of Murder (1921) and Four Years of Political Murder (1922). He also wrote Conspirators (1924) and Traitors fall victim to the Feme (1929). These books exposed the political violence happening in Germany.

Gumbel admired the British thinker and pacifist Bertrand Russell, even though they never met. He translated some of Russell's writings into German.

Emil Gumbel's Family Life

In 1930, Gumbel married Marieluise Czettritz. They had met in the mid-1920s. Marieluise had two sons from her previous marriage. She kept custody of her youngest son, Harald. Marieluise passed away from cancer in 1952.