Video: 'This day in history: July 12, 1984: Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first female vice-presidential candidate.'

(Thursday, July 12, 1984; during the 1984 United States presidential election) — Probable Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale today named U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of Queens, New York, as his running mate today, the first woman selected to run for vice president on a major party ticket.

“I looked for the best vice president and I found her in Gerry Ferraro,” Mondale said, announcing his historic step for an ebullient crowd at the capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, the former vice president’s home state.

“This is an exciting choice,” he said, with Ferraro by his side just four days before the 1984 Democratic National Convention opened in San Francisco.

Video: 'July 12, 1984 - Walter Mondale Selects Geraldine Ferraro as Running Mate'

Ferraro grew up in New York City and worked as a public school teacher before training as a lawyer.

She joined the Queens County District Attorney’s Office in 1974, heading the new Special Victims Bureau that dealt with sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence.

In 1978 she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she rose rapidly in the party hierarchy while focusing on legislation to bring equity for women in the areas of wages, pensions, and retirement plans.