Star Wars Day on May 4, 1979, the day Margaret Thatcher took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. An online news article from the Danish public broadcaster says her political party, the Conservatives, placed a congratulatory advertisement in "The London Evening News", saying "May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations." The saying was used in a UK Parliament defence debate on May 4, 1994. Astrophysicist and author Jeanne Cavelos used the saying on page 94 of her 1999 book "The Science of Star Wars". In 2008, the first Facebook groups appeared, celebrating "Luke Skywalker Day," with the same catchphrase. While
Star Wars (film) of three trilogies (including the original film), anthology films and an extensive media franchise called the "Star Wars" expanded universe including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books. All of the main films have been box office successes, with the overall box office revenue generated by the "Star Wars" films (including the theatrical "") totaling over $6.5 billion, making it the third highest-grossing film series. The film also spawned the "Star Wars Holiday Special", which debuted on CBS on November 17, 1978 and is often considered a failure; Lucas himself disowned it. The special has never been