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William Kaye Beatty was born on February 5, 1926, in Toronto, Canada. After serving in the U.S. Army 1944–1946, he attended Harvard College from 1946 to 1949 and worked as a library intern at the Widener Library. He then obtained his B.A. (classical languages and literature) in 1951 and M.S. (library science) in 1952, both from Columbia University. On June 14, 1952, he married Virginia L. Lewis in New York. They have three children: Margaret (1956), William (1958), and Carol (1959).

From 1952 to 1956 Beatty was at the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, first, as circulation librarian and, then, as assistant librarian, readers services. In 1956 he moved to the University of Missouri at Columbia as medical librarian and, first, as assistant professor (1956–1957) and, then as associate professor (1959–1962) of medical bibliography.

Beatty joined the faculty of Northwestern University in 1962 as professor of medical bibliography. He held the administrative appointment of medical librarian from 1962 to 1974. In 1974 he began teaching courses in the history of medicine and medical writing. Starting in 1976 he divided his time between the Chicago and Evanston campuses, continuing his teaching at the Medical School and becoming archival associate in the University Archives.

He is co-author, with Geoffrey Marks, of five books on the history of medicine, published by Scribner's. He has written some 170 articles and book chapters and many book reviews (including some 400 each with Library Journal and Booklist ). Beatty is known for his work and writings in librarianship and the history of medicine (especially of Chicago). In the 1960s and 1970s he planned 17 medical library buildings. He was active in professional organizations and was an officer in several.

His most important activities include the editorship of Vital Notes on Medical Periodicals, 1955–1976; editorship of “Journal Notes,” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 1959–1990; and consultant to the National Library of Medicine for Index Medicus, 1965–1987. In 1962 Beatty was a member of the faculty of a workshop on medical information held in Beijing and sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and the People's Republic of China.