Background

Friedrich August von Alberti was born on September 4, 1795, in Stuttgart, Germany. Alberti’s father, Karl Franz, was a colonel in Württemberg and a teacher at the well-known Karlsschule in Stuttgart; a member of the middle class, he was ennobled in 1807. His mother, Christiane Friederike, also came from the middle class; she had family connections with the princely court and was the aunt of the novelist and short-story writer Wilhelm Hauff.

Education

Alberti he was educated at the Gymnasium in Rottweil and went to the military school in Stuttgart. In 1809 Alberti entered the Bergkadettenkorps in Stuttgart, in which he received instruction in general scientific subjects as well as special training in mineralogy, geology, and mining.

Career

In 1815 Friedrich went to the saltworks at Sulz. In 1818 he supervised drilling experiments near Jagstfeld, and in 1820 he was appointed inspector of the saltworks at Friedrichshall. The first proof of his abilities came in 1823, when he drilled a rock salt deposit near Schwenningen and established the saltworks at Wilhelmshall; he became manager in 1828. In his book Über die Gebürge des Königreiches Württemberg, in besonderer Beziehung auf Halurgie (1825) he also demonstrated his scientific abilities.

In 1823, based on his perception of the area's geology, he had an idea to drill for salt in Rottenmünster. Eight months later the team had success and found salt, in a location where no one would have considered the possibility of finding salt. He also made excavations in the Roman ruins of Rottweil, the ancient Arae Flaviae. Alberti bought a house and lived in Rottenmünster, a former abbey 2 miles from Rottweil, from 1829 to 1853. While there he worked as manager for two salt companies.

Alberti was appointed mining counselor in 1836. From 1852 to 1870 he was again manager of the saltworks at Friedrichshall. There, under his direction, between 1854 and 1859 the Friedrichshall shaft was bored, and the center of Württemberg’s salt production was shifted from Wilhelmshall to Friedrichshall. His most important technical improvement was the introduction of steam heating into salt processing.

After he retired he moved to Heilbronn. After Alberti died his family stayed in Rottweil, where also a street bears his name. Today many of his descendants still live in the town.

Achievements

• After Quenstedt, Alberti must be reckoned one of the founders of the geology of southwest Germany. His investigations of the Triassic period and its fossils were of fundamental significance. He coined the name Triassic for the oldest formations of the Mesozoic era and thoroughly investigated the three divisions - variegated sandstone, shell limestone, and Keuper sandstone - dividing them into groups characterized by petrographic and paléontologie features. He invented the method of mining salt by pumping water into the mine; when the brine rose to the surface, he would allow the water to evaporate and then he would collect the salt.
  
  In 1834 he published his most important results in Beiträge zu einer Monographie des Bunten Sandsteins, Muschelkalks und Keupers und der Verbindung dieser Gebilde zu einer Formation. He also investigated and described crystalline slate and the eruptive rocks, as well as their superimposed formations in the Black Forest.
  
  The Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen gave Friedrich August von Alberti an honorary doctorate for his achievements in the salt-mining industry. The city honored him with a street in his name.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Überblick über die Trias

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  • Halurgische Geologie 1852

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  • Beitrag Zu Einer Monographie: Des Bunten Sandsteins, Muschelkalks Und Keupers Und Die Verbindung Dieser Gebilde Zu Einer Formation

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  • Halurgische Geologie

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  • Theoremata Quaedam Mathematica De Motu Gravium In Medio Resistente

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  • Halurgische Geologie

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  • Beitrag zu einer Monographie des bunten Sandsteins, Muschelkalks und Keupers und die Verbindung dieser Gebilde zu einer Formation

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Personality

People liked him for his personality, his happiness, and the fact that he was very open and honest to everyone.

Connections

Friedrich August von Alberti was married to Julie von Degenfeld von Alberti with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Father:

Karl Franz

Mother:

Christiane Friederike

Wife:

Julie von Degenfeld von Alberti 1802–1873

Son:

Friedrich Ernst von Alberti

Daughter:

Julie Speidel

Son:

Hugo August Johann von Alberti

References

• Dictionary of Scientific Biography