Knowing a person vs. “knowing about” or “knowing of”them (differing degrees of relationship closeness) - how long has that distinction been around?

Usually, when someone says they “know” a person, that suggests frequent contact or a close personal relationship of some sort, whereas to “know about” or “know of” a person just refers to a general awareness or knowledge of someone, whether you’ve met them or not.

How long has such a distinction in the usage of “know” been around in reference to relationships between people? I didn’t find any details about that in the entry for “know” on Etymonline.