For his work Kočina krajina while attending the Sarajevo Lycee he received a prize from the Matica Srpska in recognition of his historical monograph.
[6] The medical profession having been selected for him, he began his studies at the prestigious University of Vienna's School of Medicine with a stipend from the Serbian government.
By securing financing for the health service, Đorđević not only ensured its creation but also received official recognition for hygiene being a public good that should be advanced by means of state contributions.
[citation needed] He was the principal founder of the Serbian Red Cross,[9] the Royal College of Physicians, and its organ, Arhiv, to which he contributed several papers of marked ability.
[11] Upon taking the office, he "chased away bureaucrats and protectionists", arranged the quay along the Sava bank and introduced street lanterns.
In 1880, the administration introduced the new city tax (trošarina), intended to be used for the construction of waterworks, sewage, schools, cobblestone pavement, etc.
Due to the cholera outbreaks and his medical background, Đorđević envisioned the system primarily for the sanitation and health reasons, thus as a non-profit enterprise so the fee paid by the citizens was symbolic.
[citation needed] During his stay in Belgrade, he proclaimed martial law, and carried out his measures of reform with unrelenting sternness, banishing from the town anyone who attempted resistance or stood in his way.
He was accused in 1906 of giving out government secrets in his book Kraj jedne dinastije: prolozi za istoriju Srbije (The End of a Dynasty: Contributions to the History of Serbia, 3 vols., Belgrade, 1905, 1906), and convicted to six months in prison.
With friends and colleagues he helped found a new journal, Otadžbina, in which some of his earlier writings, mainly practical hygiene and economic subjects, were published.
An exhibit at the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts titled "A portrait of a tireless creator" was opened in November 2020.