You smuggled something in. The standard of the concert pitch back in the days was
A = 440:
The A above middle C is often set at 440 Hz. Historically, this A has been tuned to a variety of higher and lower pitches.[1]
The A4 is your attribution, so not valid as argument.
The 440 Hz is not contested by any one, even though current practice is to agree for each performance, and 442 Hz is also often picked. But that is a different discussion.
But it is really a futile discussion, everybody found their own way to deal with the ambiguity, and leaving the option to the user seems like the best bet.