I find the bearing more significant than the wheel: without a good bearing its utility is limited. They have a rich history it seems:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearing_(mechanical)#History

True, but to invent the bearing you need to invent the wheel first

No you don't. Rolling logs as a linear bearing for launching boats, with people carrying the logs to the front from the back as the boat passes over, almost certainly preceded the wheel.

That was also my immediate thought, although I suspect chances are good it was invented multiple times independently.

stairs also fall into this category.

Also, lots of simple tools and weapons: knives (and blades in general), hammers, bows, hand drills. Candles are almost unbelievably useful when you have no electricity, which leads nicely onto the various methods and tools for firestarting.

A knife might fall under a discovery, rather than an invention; a piece of flint that fell and chipped just the right way was likely the first knife.

It might be more interesting to limit answers to historical times.

Why? The original question makes no mention of this, not to mention that it might be cool to think about a bunch of inventions that have been with us for so long that we entirely take them for granted.

Because the spirit of the question about an inventor choosing to remain anonymous, rather than being 'anonymous' because it was 5000 years ago.

Exactly, this how I meant it to be understood. Sorry if my original question wasn't precise enough.