I read somewhere that there is a tribe in Africa that maintains there are two deaths a person undergoes; first is the physical death, followed by the death of everyone who ever knew the deceased. When that last person who actually knew them dies, they have had their inevitable second death. I find that concept rather comforting, somehow. A well known historical figure may have volumes written about them, but that is not firsthand experience; it is only the recollections of a third party, shaded by their perceptions, biases, and prejudices.