William Henry Cosby Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1937. He became known as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, initially gaining prominence through his stand-up comedy routines and television appearances. Cosby achieved widespread recognition for his role as Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984 to 1992. Beyond acting, he maintained a prolific career in advertising and received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his professional life. Starting in 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault were made against Cosby. In 2018, he was convicted of aggravated indecent assault. Following these developments, many of the awards and honorary degrees he had previously received were revoked.