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Geraldine Ferraro: GERALDINE FERRARO, who has died aged 75, was the first woman chosen by a major American political party to be its vice-presidential candidate. Though firmly established in the history books as Walter Mondale’s 1984 running mate, she was, in fact, far from his first choice.

When it became evident Mondale would lead the Democrats’ battle against a second term for Ronald Reagan, he originally wanted to run with Tom Bradley, the highly respected black mayor of Los Angeles. But Bradley, who had only narrowly been beaten in the California gubernatorial election two years earlier, was then 66 and thought unlikely to appeal to young voters, an important segment for any Democrat campaign.