Michael Jackson did not invent the Moonwalk.
According to ABC News, “Professional dancer Derek ‘Cooley’ Jaxson says he was one of the people who showed Jackson how to do the ‘moonwalk,’ which he said was based on a different move called ‘the backslide.'”
In fact, here’s a video of Bill Bailey (who’s frequently credited with originating the move) doing “the backslide” way back in 1955 (skip to the 2:03 mark to see the fancy footwork):