To Know Death / To Know About death.

[Artoria Pendragon]

So, recently I came into an argument over how the english language functions. The statements in question were as follows:

"To know death."

"To know about death."

In my argumentative adversary's opinion, they both mean the same.

I claim in rebuttal, that due to how the english language they're not the same at all.
To know death, is to have died. To have experienced death firsthand. To truly know death.
To know about death, is to know of the concept of death and dying. But not to have experienced it firsthand, yourself.

Which one of us is correct? Is either?
Discussion, go!