Here's the breakdown:

* Torque: Torque is a rotational force. It's the tendency of a force to rotate an object around an axis.

* Newton (N): The Newton is the standard unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It's named after Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the laws of motion.

* Meter (m): The meter is the standard unit of length in the SI.

Therefore, the Newton-meter (Nm) is simply the product of these two units, representing the amount of torque produced by a force of one Newton applied at a distance of one meter from the axis of rotation.

While the concept of torque existed long before the SI system was established, the use of the Newton-meter as the standard unit for torque was formalized with the adoption of the SI system in 1960.

So, there's no single inventor of the Newton-meter, but rather it's a result of the evolution of the SI system and the understanding of the concepts of force, distance, and torque.