So is the use of "he" to refer to an individual of unspecified gender. (The OED quotations for sense 2(b) "In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun

So is the use of "he" to refer to an individual of unspecified gender. (The OED quotations for sense 2(b) "In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender" go back to at least 1200AD.)