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Who invented the bearing?

The idea of replacing sliding friction with that of the bearing can be traced back to ancient times.

Some Egyptian hieroglyphics show huge blocks of stone, used to build monuments, being transported by sliding them on tree trunks acting as bearings.
 
The remains of a rotating platform, from one of the emperor Caligula's ships found at the bottom of lake Nemi around 1930, bears witness to the fact that basic bearings have been used since antiquity.
This platform may be considered one of the first examples of a thrust bearing, that is to say a bearing designed to support direct loads and rolling around its axis.
 
Leonardo de Vinci discovered the principle of the bearing in the XVth century. He realised that friction could be reduced if the balls did not touch each other. He therefore designed separators allowing the balls to move freely.
This mechanism was reinvented in the XVIIIth century when a horse carriage axle fitted with a ring of balls rolling in semi-circular grooves made in the axle was patented in England.

During the XIXth century, bearing applications exploded and the bearing was subject to further refinement. This was made possible by simultaneous progress in the area of metallurgy and technology.
 
Leonardo de Vinci's sketch: "The science of mechanics is among the most noble and most useful of all, because through this, animated bodies can perform the operations for which they were designed".

There are at least six common principles of operation:

--plain bearing, also known by the specific styles: bushings, journal bearings, sleeve bearings, rifle bearings
--rolling-element bearings such as ball bearings and roller bearings
--jewel bearings, in which the load is carried by rolling the axle slightly off-center
--fluid bearings, in which the load is carried by a gas or liquid
--magnetic bearings, in which the load is carried by a magnetic field
--flexure bearings, in which the motion is supported by a load element which bends.

For more information: NTN - SNR Group - Bearing History
   Wikipedia - Bearing History