Friedrich August von Alberti

Friedrich August von Alberti (September 4, 1795 – September 12, 1878) was a German geologist whose ground-breaking 1834 publication[1] recognized the unity of the three characteristic strata that compose the sedimentary deposits of the Triassic period in Northern Europe.

From the fossils contained in the three distinct layers— of red bed sandstones, capped by limestones (Muschelkalk), followed by black shales— that are found throughout Germany and Northwest Europe, and are called the 'Trias' (Latin trias meaning triad), Alberti detected that they formed a single stratigraphic formation; today it would be termed a system.

In 1823, based on his perception of the area's geology, he had an idea to drill for salt in Rottenmünster.

He also made excavations in the Roman ruins of Rottweil, the ancient Arae Flaviae; he published his findings from 1833 to 1837.

The Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen gave Friedrich August von Alberti an honorary doctorate for his achievements in the salt-mining industry.