Roßhaupter was born in Pillnach as son of a small-scale farmer and basket maker. After visiting the elementary school in Munich, he passed a professional lacquer training. In 1897 he joined the MSPD, and worked at the central train garages of Munich from 1899 to 1908. After 1900 he was additional district manager of the free-unionized and social democratic Bavarian train garages and factory workers' association, respectively district manager of the Southern German railway and postal workers' union. Thenceforward 1907 until 1933, he was member of the Bavarian parliament. In 1909 he became manager and full-time secretary of the Southern German railway and postal workers' union, and was also editor of the union's organ "Süddeutsche Eisenbahn- und Postpersonal-Zeitung" in Nuremberg until 1912. After 1913 he had several jobs in Augsburg, where he was member of the SPD executive committee of Augsburg until 1914, also community mandatory of the city and editor of the "Schwäbische Volkszeitung" until 1920. After his military service during World War I, he was member of the Bavarian SPD commission. As a member of the provisorily parliament he became minister for military affairs under Kurt Eisner on 8 November and held the office until 21 February 1919. From 1920 to 1933 he worked as editor of the "Bayerisches Wochenblatt", organ of the agriculture and forestry worker's union in Augsburg and Olching. As the parliamentary leader of the SPD in the Bavarian parliament, he affirmed the disapproval to the Enabling Act of 1933 of the Nazi party on 29 April 1933. Due to this he was imprisoned in Fürstenfeldbruck and in the Dachau concentration camp from 1933 to 1934, and a few times afterwards, at last again in Dachau in 1944. After World War II he was a leading member of the SPD-KPD workgroup in Munich, and became the first Bavarian Minister of Labor and Social Care on 28 May 1945. During this period, he was also deputy of Minister-PresidentWilhelm Hoegner from 28 September 1945 to 21 December 1946, deputy president of the preparing constitutional commission from 8 March to 24 June 1946 and member of the constitutional convention from 30 June to 26 October 1946. On 20 September 1947 Heinrich Krehle followed on the ministry post. From 1948 to 1949 Roßhaupter was member of the Parlamentarischer Rat in Bonn. He died in Nannhofen. The Albert-Rosshaupter-Straße in Munich is named in honor of him.
