University Times

Pittsburgh historian Robert C. Alberts, author of the University's bicentennial history, "Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787-1987," died Oct. 8 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 89 years old.

Alberts began writing books in 1965 after taking an early retirement as vice president of the public relations firm of Ketchum MacLeod & Grove. Along with the Pitt history, Alberts also penned a biography of H. J. Heinz Co. founder Henry Heinz and painter Benjamin West.

A resident of Somerset County, Alberts's first book was "The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Major Robert Stobo," a hero of the French and Indian War. From 1969 to 1987, Alberts produced seven other books, including the Pitt history.

No memorial service will be held. Alberts was cremated and his ashes will be buried somewhere in Somerset County.