Many of Ernst Mach's early admirers and supporters would become much more famous than Friedrich Adler, who is little known outside of Austria, but none would have more influence on historical events. He had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. Indeed, no understanding of Mach's influence in Vienna or Zürich is possible without focusing on this remarkable young man who combined interests in physics, socialism, and Mach's world view. Furthermore, the brief nudges he gave to history would in their under-recognized way help bring down an empire, save a nation from communism, open Albert Einstein's academic path, and help give a Machist and pacifist flavor to Austrian socialism, or what was then called Austro-Marxisrnus.