The assertion that the steam engine was ""the noblest machine ever invented by man"" was made by the British author Samuel Smiles.

The correct answer is:

False

Explanation:

Throughout the book The Panorama of Science and Art: Embracing the Principal Sciences and Arts; the methods of working in wood and metal; the miscellaneous selection of useful and interesting processes and experiments written by the author James Smith it is possible to find the sentence "the noblest machine ever invented by man" which is mentioned while the author tells about the story of the invention of the steam engine, which is attributed to the British. The date of the invention is not exactly known, but in the chapter about the steam machine it is said that it could have been invented in 1663 by the Marquis of Worcester, there are some others who claim such invention, however the invention seems to be officially attributed to the Marquis due to his official publication about it.

On the other hand, the author Samuel Smiles published his research thesis "Tools and the Man": Lives of the Engineers, and the Machine Question in Victorian Literature where he talks about the importance of engineers in the invention and control of machines, on the contrary as proposed before as a preoccupation about machines against men, the author explains how engineers are the human element able to control and invent them.