August 26, 1883

Minnie Hoyt ’80 became the first person appointed to a clerkship in the United States Treasury Department under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883), which replaced the previous the patronage system for such appointments with competitive examinations. The change—long considered necessary—had been given new impetus by the assassination in 1881 of President James Garfield by a disgruntled civil servant, Charles Guiteau.

The score attained by Hoyt, who had entered government service shortly after her graduation, was 88.96, the highest among the first group to take the examination.

The New York Times