Why a static main method in Java and C#, rather than a constructor?

Question

I’m Looking for a definitive answer from a primary or secondary source for why (notably) Java and C# decided to have a static method as their entry point, rather than representing an application instance by an instance of an Application class (with the entry point being an appropriate constructor).

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Background and details of my prior research

This has been asked before. Unfortunately, the existing answers are merely begging the question. In particular, the following answers don’t satisfy me, as I deem them incorrect:

• There would be ambiguity if the constructor were overloaded. – In fact, C# (as well as C and C++) allows different signatures for Main so the same potential ambiguity exists, and is dealt with.
• A static method means no objects can be instantiated before so order of initialisation is clear. – This is just factually wrong, some objects are instantiated before (e.g. in a static constructor).
• So they can be invoked by the runtime without having to instantiate a parent object. – This is no answer at all.

Just to justify further why I think this is a valid and interesting question:

• Many frameworks do use classes to represent applications, and constructors as entry points. For instance, the VB.NET application framework uses a dedicated main dialog (and its constructor) as the entry point¹.

• Neither Java nor C# technically need a main method. Well, C# needs one to compile, but Java not even that. And in neither case is it needed for execution. So this doesn’t appear to be a technical restriction. And, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, for a mere convention it seems oddly unfitting with the general design principle of Java and C#.

To be clear, there isn’t a specific disadvantage to having a static main method, it’s just distinctly odd, which made me wonder if there was some technical rationale behind it.

I’m interested in a definitive answer from a primary or secondary source, not mere speculations.

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¹ Although there is a callback (Startup) which may intercept this.