What if I am writing about a historic character

[wholeagain]

If I am writing about a historic character,should I always use the past tense or I can use present tense as well? Should I stick to one kind of tense in the whole essay? Many thanks.

[Josef]

We often use present tense in speech when telling little stories, anecdotes and jokes.

"So this guy comes in the room and points a gun at us..."

However, this is very informal.

Generally, when writing about an historical person it would not be appropriate to use the present tense to describe that person's actions and character, especially in an essay or any kind of formal writing.