Ferraro, Geraldine (1935—)

Geraldine Anne Ferraro is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and was the first woman to be the vice-presidential nominee of a major political party. Ferraro received her undergraduate degree from Marymount Manhattan College and then her law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1960. After raising three children, she worked at the Queens County district attorney's office where she started the Special Victims Bureau.

She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 where she represented the 9th Congressional District of New York in Queens. She served for 6 years during which her voting record was generally considered liberal. She served as the secretary of the House Democratic Caucus and was chairwoman of ...