Charles Clinton Beatty was a Presbyterian minister, seminary founder, and academic philanthropist. He was born on January 4, 1800 Princeton, New Jersey. His grandfather, Charles Beatty, was a Presbyterian minister, and his father, Erkuries Beatty, was an officer during the Revolutionary War. Beatty was of Scotch Irish descent. He attended College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and its Seminary (now Princeton Theological Seminary). In 1861, he received an honorary degree from Washington College. He was elected trustee of Washington College on September 1, 1863.