Charles Cornwallis, the British general who surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown, was born in London on New Year's Eve 1738. He studied at Eton and Clare College before joining the military during the Seven Years' War. In 1768 he married Jemima Tulkiens (1747–1779), with whom he would have two children. A member of Parliament, Cornwallis voted against the Stamp Act and the Declaratory Act. Yet he disapproved of rebellion, reentering the military upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.