Roger Taney (1777-1865) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1836 to 1865. He wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case (1857). Taney has been criticized for his conservative judicial philosophy, which made him a controversial figure during his lifetime. His opinion in that case led to the eventual 1857-1858 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened up the western territories to slavery. Taney remained a justice until his death in 1865.

Taney was born in Georgetown in 1777, one of ten children of Michael Taney and Margaret Johnson.