| Date | Event |
| 29 June 1936 | Born on Mer, the son of Robert Zezou [1] Sambo and Annie Mabo of the Piadaram clan. Because his mother died in childbirth, he was adopted under customary law by his uncle Benny Mabo and aunt Maiga. |
| 1953-1957 | Worked on various trochus fishing luggers out of Mer. |
| 1957 | Left Mer and moved to the mainland. Subsequently worked at various jobs including canecutter and railway labourer. |
| 1959 | Married Bonita Nehow (born 1943). |
| 1960-1961 | Union representative, Townsville-Mount Isa rail construction project. |
| 1962-1967 | Worked for the Townsville Harbour Board. |
| 1962-1969 | Secretary, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League. |
| 1967 | Helped organise seminar in Townsville: 'We the Australians: What is to Follow the Referendum?' |
| 1967-1971 | Worked as gardener-groundsman, James Cook University. |
| 1970 | Resigned from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League because of the involvement of people he considered to be insincere 'do-gooders'. Became President of the all-black Council for the Rights of Indigenous People, which established a legal aid service, a medical service, and the Black Community School. |
| 1973 | Mabo and family travelled to Thursday Island en route to Mer with the intention of visiting Mabo's dying father, but were denied entry to Mer. |
| 1973-1983 | Director, Black Community School, Townsville. |
| 1974-1978 | Member of the Aboriginal Arts Council. |
| 1975-1980 | President, Yumba Meta Housing Association. |
| 1975-1978 | Member, National Aboriginal Education Committee. |
| 1978-1981 | Assistant Vocational Officer, Aboriginal Employment and Training Branch Commonwealth Employment Service. |
| 1978-1979 | Member, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies Education Advisory Committee. |
| 1981 | Conference on land rights at James Cook University. Decision made to take the Murray Islanders' land case to the High Court. |
| 1981-1984 | Pursued Diploma of Teaching, Townsville College of Advanced Education/James Cook University. |
| 1982 | Land rights case launched. Plaintiffs were Mabo, Sam Passi, Father Dave Passi, James Rice and Celuia Mapo Salee. |
| 1985 | Field Officer, QED Townsville Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. Received a research grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies to study land tenure in Torres Strait. In an attempt to retrospectively abolish native land title in Torres Strait, the Queensland Government passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985. |
| 1986-1987 | Director, ABIS Community Cooperative Society Ltd, Townsville. |
| 1986-1987 | Assistant Director, Aboriginal Arts, Melbourne Moomba Festival. |
| 1987-1988 | Employed by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs as Community Arts Liaison Officer, 5th Festival of Pacific Arts, Townsville. |
| 1987-1988 | Vice-Chairman, Magani Malu Kes. |
| 1988 | High Court ruled the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985 contrary to the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975. |
| 21 January 1992 | Edward Koiki Mabo died in Brisbane. |
| 3 June 1992 | High Court delivered a 6:1 verdict in favour of Mabo, Mabo v State of Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, overturning the 205-year-old legal doctrine of terra nullius. |
| 26 January 1993 | The Australian announced Eddie Mabo its 1992 Australian of the Year. |
Loos, Noel and Mabo, Koiki. Edward Koiki Mabo: his life and struggle for land rights. Brisbane : University of Queensland Press, 1996.