Geraldine Ferraro, the first female Vice Presidential candidate on a major party ticket, has passed away at age 75 of complications from blood cancer. Ferraro, the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1984, was a New York Congresswoman when she was picked by Walter Mondale to be his ticket-mate. They went on to lose in a landslide to the Reagan/Bush ticket.
Ferraro not only took pride in the fact that she was the first woman, but was also the first Italian-American to be on a major party presidential ticket. Speaking for both her gender and heritage, she began her 1984 convention acceptance speech,
"My name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."
Rest in peace.
