Timeline Tuesday 16 January 1883

Events on Tuesday 16 January 1883 1

• 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act signed United States begins merit-based federal hiring President Chester A. Arthur signed the Pendleton Act on 16 January, establishing a merit-based system for federal government jobs and creating the Civil Service Commission. It ended much of the patronage-based spoils system following the 1881 assassination of President Garfield by a disappointed office seeker.