Joseph Battell (April 17, 1806 – July 8, 1874) was a businessman and benefactor of Yale University.

He graduated from Middlebury College in 1824 before moving to New York City.

Battell was an enthusiast of sacred music and established a fund at Yale for it in 1854.

[1] This gift was the first towards an eventual School of Music, officially founded in 1890.

Battell died in Brooklyn, New York on July 8, 1874.