The family fled to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois. There, young Moses followed the classic immigrant path to success. Speaking no English, he worked at odd jobs, most involving menial labor. He toiled in the Chicago stockyards under the brutal conditions described in Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle.

Through sheer force of will and brainpower, Gomberg learned English, completed his secondary education, and in 1886 entered the University of Michigan. He tried to enroll in a beginning course in physics, but the department head turned him down because he had no formal training in trigonometry. Three days later, he tried again. When the department again rejected him for the same reason, Gomberg insisted he knew the subject. The department head quizzed him, and was stunned to find that what he claimed was true.

Gomberg earned his Ph.D. in 1894 and remained at Michigan for the rest of his professional life, except for a year spent in Germany and a summer at the University of California. Widely regarded as a fine teacher and lecturer, he was appointed an assistant professor in 1899 and a full professor in 1904; he chaired Michigan's chemistry department from 1927 until he retired in 1936.

Gomberg lived quietly, sharing a house in Ann Arbor with his sister, Sonia. Her health began to fail around the time of his retirement, and he spent most of the rest of his life caring for her. He died on February 12, 1947, four days after his 81st birthday.

Those who knew Gomberg remembered him as kind, generous and modest, as well as a man with strong convictions. He was unfailingly courteous. Students often tried — in vain — to follow him through a door.

Gomberg was known for his dry wit. A policeman in Ann Arbor stopped him for rolling through a stop sign and sternly said, "The next time, I want you to come to a complete stop!" Gomberg replied politely, "Is there any other kind of stop?"

Although Gomberg is best known for his discovery of organic free radicals, he made many other contributions to organic and applied chemistry. He developed new solvents for automobile lacquers, the first antifreeze compound used in cars, and a procedure for producing mustard gas during World War I.

He received honorary degrees from the University of Chicago, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Michigan, as well as three medals from the American Chemical Society: the Nichols Medal in 1914, the Willard Gibbs Medal in 1925, and the Chandler Medal in 1927. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1914, and served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1931.