Franklin D. Roosevelt was born.
Franklin D. Roosevelt . He directed the United States government during most of the Great Depression and World War II . He entered politics in 1910 , serving in the New York State Senate , and then as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson . In the 1932 presidential election , Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican president Herbert Hoover in a landslide to win the presidency . Energized by his personal victory over polio , FDR relied on his persistent optimism and activism to renew the national spirit .