Sidney Mortimer Harman (August 4, 1918 – April 12, 2011) was a Canadian-born American polymath whose varied intellectual interests enabled him to flourish during a sixty-year career as an engineer, businessman, manager and philanthropist active in electronics, education, government, industry, and publishing.

Under Secretary of Commerce, Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, board member of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, Isaias W. Hellman Professor of Polymathy at University of Southern California executive board chairman of Business Executives for National Security, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and CFO-owner of the Newsweek Daily Beast Co. Harman was active in business until his death at 92 years old.

[4][5][6] Harman's father managed the regional office of a hearing aid company in Montreal before moving the family for a similar job in New York.

[12][2] Serving as a second lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps from 1944 to 1945,[13] Harman's abilities in engineering sound kept him from the front lines.

Harman helped develop a classified “sonic deception” project meant to confuse the Nazis during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and in the Pacific.

[15] After graduating from college, Harman's first job was at the David Bogen Company as an engineer where he designed public-address systems.

[16] Recognizing a nascent high-fidelity industry, Harman lobbied the Bogen company to develop improved audio systems for American consumers.

Harman handled sales, merchandising, and advertising, while Kardon was Chief Engineer, Designer and Production Manager.

[26] The newly formed HARMAN International developed audio equipment aimed at the high-end consumer and professional markets.

The EIA said Harman's "unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and human development, both in the electronics industry and the greater community" and his "commitment to progressive management at every level, his promotion of the arts as integral in business, and his remarkable vision in anticipating, interpreting, and giving life to the opportunities in digital technology" were the reasons for the award.

The company was then focused on three business segments - Automotive, Consumer and Professional, offering products under company-owned brand names including AKG, Becker, Crown International, dbx, DigiTech, JBL, JBL Professional, Infinity Systems, Harman/Kardon, Lexicon, Mark Levinson Audio Systems, Soundcraft and Studer.

HARMAN International corporate customers in 2007 included Apple, Inc., BMW, Land Rover, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Hyundai/Kia Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Rolls-Royce, Saab, and Toyota.

Politically liberal, Harman became active in the US civil rights movement voluntarily teaching black children after public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia were closed in an effort to avoid court-ordered desegregation.

Harman shuttled between Long Island, N.Y. and Virginia at his own cost to teach black students who were being denied public education.

Harman said he felt the main problem was corporate America treating employees like replaceable pieces of machinery.

[32] The program included a company provision for child day care for employees as well as early shift ending times earned by teams meeting daily production quotas ahead of schedule.

[31] Nevertheless, the project has become a model for American industry and is a principal case study at United States business schools and abroad.

[34] Each semester distinguished poets, playwrights, novelists, journalists and essayists are invited to participate in the program's workshops, classes and conferences.

[36][37] The academy encourages critical and integrative thinking, the study of history's great polymaths, and intellectual investigation across the boundaries of traditional academic specialties.

[37] Less than a year before his death, in August 2010, Harman bought Newsweek magazine from The Washington Post Company,[8] paying $1 and accepting the assumption of $47 million in liabilities.

[39][40] Harman's philanthropic activities were many and varied, including serving as a trustee of the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the National Symphony Orchestra.

[3] Harman displayed a remarkable amount of energy into his 80s, staying active by playing golf and engaging in various other hobbies.

Breyer spoke of Harman's love of Shakespeare and his ability to recite large portions of plays from memory.

[43] • 2000 - Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame - Inaugural inductee • 2002 - Electronic Industries Alliance Medal of Honor recipient • 2003 - Aspen Institute Award for Corporate Leadership • 2007 - Entrepreneur of the Year - USC Marshall's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies[44] • 2007 - Washingtonian of the Year[45] • 2008 - First Judge Widney Professor of Business at University of Southern California.