Sidney Harman, Newsweek chairman and entrepreneur, dies at 92

Sidney Harman, a Jewish entrepreneur who bought Newsweek magazine last year, has died.

Harman died Tuesday in Washington one month after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, his family said in a statement. He was 92.

Harman, who was married to former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), was executive chairman of Newsweek and chairman of the Academy for Polymathic Study at the University of Southern California, where he also taught, at the time of his death.

He served as a top U.S. Commerce Department official under President Carter.

Harman was the founder of Harman Kardon Inc., which pioneered new technologies in stereo equipment. He left the company, now called Harman International Industries, in 2007.

Jane Harman was a pro-Israel stalwart with close ties to the U.S. intelligence community. She resigned in February to head the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, a foreign policy think tank.