The door handle was most likely 'invented' not that long after the 'invention' of the door, which would be long before any advanced civilization existed. At first these doors wouldn't have required a door 'knob' as such, since they wouldn't have a latch, but more of a handle which would just have been pulled and pushed and which has developed and changed over the years.

However, Osbourn Dorsey, a black American inventor, is credited with the door handle patenting it in 1878 for improvements on a door-closing device. Little history is known about this man.