The phrase "invented the first" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe an accomplishment such as, "Thomas Edison invented the first successful light bulb."
He also invented the first square bathtub.
They even invented the first digital camera.
Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor.
He invented the first effective electromagnetic seismograph in 1906.
The troubadours invented the first language of love.
In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented the first successful steam engine.
By using several such lenses in a series, he invented the first electron microscope in 1933.
Stevens's father invented the first portable hearing aid, which made him a substantial fortune.
It's been more than 100 years since the Wright brothers invented the first functioning plane.
Ernst Leitz and Carl Zeiss had just invented the first distortion-free microscopes.
After a visit to the carwash, inspired by the rotating brushes, he invented the first weed whacker.
