Who invented the bench press?

The bench press, as commonly practiced today, does not have a singular inventor but evolved over time. George Hackenschmidt, a strongman from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is often credited with popularizing the floor press, a precursor to the modern bench press. He performed a version of the press named the "Hackenschmidt floor press," which was similar but occurred on the ground. Over time, this evolved with the introduction of a bench and rack setup, becoming the bench press that is widely used today 1.