After a lot of work, archaelogists in Poland believe they have found Nicholas Copernicus (Yahoo! News). He was found in Frombork Cathedral (CastlesofPoland.com). Frombork Cathedral is located in Northern Poland – Copernicus was a canon there, hence his burial under the cathedral. If your unfamiliar with Copernicus, his Wikipedia entry is here.
From the Yahoo article:
Polish archeologists believe they have located the grave of 16th-century astronomer and solar-system proponent Nicolaus Copernicus in a Polish church, one of the scientists announced Thursday.
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Gassowski said police forensic experts used the skull to reconstruct a face that closely resembled the features — including a broken nose and scar above the left eye — on a Copernicus self-portrait. The experts also determined the skull belonged to a man who died at about age 70.The grave was in bad condition and not all remains were found, Gassowski said, adding that his team will try to find relatives of Copernicus to do more accurate DNA identification.
They even have a computerized portrait available at the Yahoo link above. As was pointed out in this article (Radio Polonia), Copernicus was not a famous man when he was buried, which is why so it’s taken so long. This story is via slashdot.org
Now the genealogy detective work really begins – tracking down his relatives.